


What It Is And Isn't

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 02:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8038498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: The Doctor and Rose get pulled into a town that's entirely superstitious, relying on legends.  The worst part, is that they might not be entirely wrong...





	1. Chapter 1

"So, we'll be at this beach for a whole week?" Rose asked, a little tentatively, like she wasn't sure, not exactly, as to what was going to be happening.  She cocked her head at him as he rounded the console.

"That's the plan!" The Doctor said, grinning over at her. She couldn't help but grin back, but she wasn't done grilling him for information yet. 

"We're not going to miss?" She asked softly, patiently, and he immediately stopped in the middle of flipping a lever.

"Rose _Tyler,_ that was one time."

She tapped her finger against her chin.  "Alright.  The first time I'll give you, yeah, twelve hours, twelve months, what's the difference?" She smiled and made a 'so so' motion with her hand.  "But then you take me to Cardiff instead of Naples, and we see Queen Victoria instead of a band...  Then we crash in parallel universe, and that was just last month.  Now, on our first trip since then, are you gonna do it again?"

He made a face.  "No, I don't think so. Not unless some sort of power drags us there, which, I assure you, shouldn't happen.  Unless, of course, it does."  He scratched the back of his neck and glanced at her, as though looking for reassurance.  "I really think we'll be fine this time.  If we're needed... Would you be that mad?"

He looked genuinely worried, like he wasn't pleasing her with what they were doing, or where they were going, or the adventures they were having.  So she quickly and emphatically shook her head.

"No, of course not, Doctor.  If I came with you for the expectation of perfect trips, I wouldn't continue traveling with you.  But it's more than that, yeah? It's people being happy, because we make them happy, because we change things for them.  We make things better," she finished softly.  "I love it."

He grinned and let out a long breath.  "You worry me sometimes."

She giggled.  "Not gonna leave, Doctor, thought you knew better than that by now."

"Oh, believe me, after you didn't leave to be with Mickey, I certainly got the picture."

"You thought I was going to leave with Mickey?" She kicked her feet uneasily from where she sat on the jump seat.  Although it had been a month since they had left the parallel world, it was still unnerving to talk about him, like he was dead. Because in a way, he was. She was never going to see him again.  In a sort of twisted irony, he was a world away.  And it was one that they couldn't get to again, even if they tried.  But after Rose had seen what she had, she was pretty certain that she didn't want to try.

The Doctor nodded, flipping another switch and pounding his mallet on a lever. "Yes.  You know, all the gingerbread houses of that place, figured he was bound to be yours."

"Nah. Don't have one."

"Everyone has one."

"Well, what would've kept you there, Doctor?" She asked.

He squinted and smiled again. "I don't know," he said, "Maybe we didn't come across it.  Maybe the Time Lords live there, but in a way, Rose, you must know I romanticize them. They really were a stuffy lot and I remember them differently because they're gone."

Rose nodded. "I think I know what you mean.  I remember Mickey as a better friend, as a better _boyfriend,_ when that was his label.  But he wasn't that great," she said.  "You know?"

"Yes, I rather think I do," he said.  "But!  Not anymore.  We're not doing that anymore.  We'll be free of candy houses, and... Hey, I never did ask you.  What would've kept _you_ there?"

She looked at him blankly.  "You're my best mate, Doctor. If you had stayed, I would've stayed too."

He breathed out a sigh.  "Well, thank goodness."

She giggled and he continued to pilot the TARDIS, their conversation falling into something a bit more superficial, as it always did when they had been talking about something heavy.

It was rare that she got him to talk about things like this, but whenever they did, he would let it go soon after.  He didn't like talking about dark things, or living dark experiences again, but Rose was determined that he would.  She had told him once that he needed to let himself go, let things out.  Unfortunately, he was still not very good at that.  he admitted that she was his best friend, but he still kept things.  She supposed everyone had their secrets.

And now he had promised to take her to this fabulous beach town, with villas and sparkling oceans and fruity drinks. Parts of her ached for trips like that, and this was one of those parts that finally struggled to the front and asked the Doctor if they could _please_ have a holiday. He had readily agreed, which told her that he had needed one as well.

She should've known by that alone that a holiday was not what they were going to get.

They landed a little roughly, and Rose's head snapped back and she grimaced at the jarring movement.  She raised her hand to the back of her neck and got to her feet. The Doctor held out his hand for hers and she grinned, taking it and letting him lead her off the TARDIS.

They were led right into an angry mob.  The Doctor pushed Rose behind him so that she was back against the doors of the TARDIS, the safest spot for her.  There was a crowd of people surrounding the ship, as though they were waiting for something, their faces a mixture of both fear and anger.  The Doctor's eyes skimmed the crowd as he tried to read their eyes, which were even less clear than the general look of their faces.

"Hello,' he said, and the crowd started, as though theey hadn't expected him to say anything at all.  "What's going on here?"

The people tittered with each other, and none of them said anything for a few moments, staring and making noises that Rose could only describe as angry mumbling.  Finally, one man stood forward.  He looked much like a human, and she wondered if they were humans, here. They could just be humanoid figures after all, which was mostly what she was used to when they went on trips.

The man who had stepped forward balled his hands at his sides and called out, "You will go away!  You will get back into your devil ship and sail away, beyond the reaches of our world!"

Confused, Rose furrowed her brows and got on her tiptoes to whisper to the Doctor, "They think we're invading?"

The Doctor nodded and whispered back, "Seems to be that."  He turned back to the crowd.  "Allow me to introduce myself.  I'm the Doctor and this is my companion Rose Tyler.  We've had a bit of a wrong landing, i think.  Totally my fault, sorry, didn't mean to land on your lovely world at all.  Is something wrong here? You all seem a little scared."

"You're the Doctor?" A woman from halfway through the crowd shouted, and she sounded relieved.

"Yes," he said, "Have you heard of me?"

"Everyone has," someone else chimed in.  "Can you-"

"Shut up!" the first man, who might have been the leader, spoke up.  "None of you say anything, you can get us in a lot of trouble by opening your mouths."

"No, let them talk," the Doctor said.

"You do not let your _companion_ talk," the man said, crossing his arms in a very defensive gesture.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "I assure you, Rose talks just fine, and often, actually.  That's not the point.  The point is that I think you might be in trouble and I think I can help you.  But I can't help if none of you will tell me what's going on."

Rose was staring to feel a little claustrophobic behind the Doctor's back, her hand on his shoulder and his arm across the part of her that was exposed, as though he was afraid that someone would attack her.  She was fairly certain that these people would be just as terrified of her as she was of them. 

They spoke in American accents.  "Where are we?" She asked, almost as an afterthought, to the Doctor.  "They can't be from any sort of London colony, can they?"

"No," the Doctor replied as the crowd seemed to discuss but also kept their eyes on him.  "No, I can't imagine that they could be.  On the other hand, they're probably from _a_ colony.  Maybe American, maybe somewhere else and the American accent is just what prevailed.  I can ask when I'm fearing less for your life, eh?"

"Oi."

"Sorry."

The man stepped forward again, his chest puffed out like he was about to say something very important indeed. "You say you want to help.  We know of the Doctor, we have heard, but how will we know who you are?"

"Because I'm the Doctor.  You've probably heard of Rose, too, yes?  Slaughtering of the Daleks and all."  He eyed them all carefully.  "In case you were confused, the Daleks are, or were, I should say, a rather evil species."

"We know about Daleks," the man said.  "We know of Rose Tyler.  Why are you here?"

"Like I said, bit of a mistake," the Doctor replied.  "But your'e in trouble, aren't you?  We seem to end up where there's trouble a lot.  So why don't you tell me what's going on?"

The man shifted around and looked at everyone else in the crowd. They seemed to nod and Rose sighed at how her vacation had gone to shite so quickly.  The Doctor gave her an apologetic look and she just smiled back. Of course, she knew that wasn't his fault.  Not this time anyway.  Next time?  Maybe.  But these people needed their help, and Rose was determined to give it to them.

He finally stuck his hand out to them.  "I'm Gren.  I am the governor of these parts, although there is a president above us."

"Oh, brilliant!" The Doctor grinned, interrupting him.  "So it's a republic, or a democracy, around here?"

"Something like that," Gren said cautiously. He sighed restlessly. "Can you help us?  We're having a lot of trouble here, we need help."

"That's what I thought," the Doctor said, his tone turning grim.  He let Rose walk out from behind him and she reached down to hold his hand. He squeezed her fingers and let her, tugging her closer to his side.  

"Can you help us?" A woman shouted out, looking frantic.

Rose nodded. "Yeah.  We can help. That's what we do, you must know that from what you've heard, yeah?  Just talk to us."

Gren nodded.  "There are monsters here. We were afraid you would be monsters too.  I still think... I think you might be.  But there are bigger ones than you, ones that live in our forests and take our people and drive them to madness.  The government can do nothing, they do not understand it, none of us do."

"I can't pretend to understand," the Doctor said, "But I can do what I can.  And what I can do is a lot of rather brilliant things," he said, with no small amount of pride. 

Rose rolled her eyes.  "What he means to say is that we don't leave a situation until it's... Resolved."  Her voice faltered as the unbidden thought of France crashed into her mind and the Doctor gave her an odd look, not understanding.

"She is compassionate," a man in the back of the crowd pointed out.  "She can help us!"

"Yes, she can," the Doctor assured them. "Rose is human, and I am a Time Lord.  Who are you and your people, Gren?"

Gren glanced around at his population, as though he wasn't quite sure what he should say about the whole matter, but finally nodded.  "We are all humans, come from across the galaxy to colonize Earth II."

"Earth II. Not quite as popular as the first, eh?" The Doctor joked.

"Not really," Gren said, scratching his arm.  "But if you want to help us, you'll have to come with me to the saloon."

Rose sensed that Gren just wanted to be in a place with other people so they couldn't kidnap or kill any people, so she nodded readily before the Doctor could even think about protesting.

"Of course," she said.  "Lead the way, Gren."

The Doctor gave her another look but followed her as they started following Gren and the people deeper into the town. Everyone continued to stare and whisper to them and Rose turned to him, smiling a little.

"I think we missed the beach," she whispered.

He gave her an apologetic smile.  "Next time?" he said, a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

Oh, she could never resist his eyes when they were like that.  She nodded slightly, squeezing his hand as they walked through the crowd to reveal an old-timey town with a saloon with swinging doors.  "Next time."


	2. Chapter 2

Gren led them through the swinging doors of the saloon, and Rose almost bit her lip to hide a laugh.  It looked very much like the classical Wild West Saloon, complete with men wolf whistling at her when they entered. 

"Oh, well that's rude," the Doctor said, falling back into step with Rose and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  "I guess they're not very evolved, this lot."

Rose laughed.  "It's fine," she said, "Not like I haven't got it before."

He wrinkled his nose. "Well, that doesn't mean you have to have it now, yes?"

They followed Gren to a curtained off area of the saloon that seemed to be reserve only.  It held a large, cushioned booth that seemed a bit more modern, with a red and white checkered tablecloth over the table.  Gren gestured for Rose and the Doctor to sit, which they did, the Doctor gesturing for Rose to slide in first.  He sat next to her, the weight with which he threw himself making her hop up into the air slightly. 

"You know nothing?" Gren asked, his eyes flicking between them.  "I don't know what you would know and would you wouldn't."

"We know nothing," the Doctor replied, "We were trying to go on holiday, and we got brought here instead."  He smiled, "I have a feeling we're needed here more though, and the beach isn't going anywhere."  

Gren gave a tight smile.  "Well, there's been a lot of trouble around here... And we don't really know where any of them came from, but they're legends, back on the old Earth."

"Do tell," Rose said, leaning forward on her arms on the table.  Gren swallowed nervously and looked over a t her.  He seemed reluctant to say anything, but she raised her brows, waiting for him. 

"I want..." Gren blew out his cheeks.  "I want you to know that these are new things that have been happening, here."

The Doctor furrowed his brows.  "Okay, so what's been happening?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning back.  He looked like he was already very impatient.

"Do you know of a legend called the Rake?" Gren asked lowly. 

Rose furrowed her brows and the Doctor arched one of his. 

"No, that's not real, Gren," the Doctor reassured him.  "The Rake was a tale passed around by kids trying to scare their friends, that's all?  Don't you think that's a little absurd?"

Rose opened and closed her mouth.  "Yeah, I've not even heard of that."

"He is real," Gren said lowly, looking around, as though someone, perhaps the Rake himself, would be watching them.  "And we can't stop him."

"Well, you still haven't told us what's been happening," the Doctor told him, a rough edge to his tone.  "We want to help, Gren, that's what we _do,_ but we can't help if you don't tell us what's been going on."

Gren cracked his knuckles nervously, "We've found... Bodies, strewn throughout the woods.  Most aren't even from out area.  It's really quite alarming," he said, "And then there have been the disappearances.  People who haven't turned out dead, haven't turned up at all.  And then there was one-" he swallowed.  

"Tell us," Rose said, reaching over and touching the man's hand.  The Doctor's gaze shot straight to where her skin connected with his and he sniffed.  Rose ignored this, or perhaps just wasn't aware of it, as she raised her brows and waited for someone to say something. 

"One man," Gren began, on a whisper, his eyes brimming with tears.  "He came back, he was covered in dirt, but he wouldn't talk about it.  He just kept saying "She's dead, she's dead," and walked into the city like that."

"Is he here?" Rose asked coaxingly. 

"Not at the moment, he's in a mental facility," Gren said, "But I suppose he was drawn towards the lights.  This is the most rural place in the area, and the tall buildings seem to what drew him in."

Rose hadn't noticed the city, so fixated had she been on the people who had been afraid of her or wanting her to save him.  She glanced around the saloon. It was hard to picture that perhaps there would be a place full of technology outside of this area.  She forced those thoughts down, not really wanting to show her opinion. 

"Can we visit him?" Rose asked, "That might be a good place to start,"  she was tender in her suggestion, and the Doctor felt a swell of pride.  Of course she would want to start with that very human approach of hers, the emotions of the people involved.  

That was all she did, he had to remember.  She wanted to make sure the people were safe, and that was where he was sadly lacking.  He really admired that about her, he thought to himself, careful in his word choice about that.  There were many emotions directed towards Rose Tyler, and admiration was going to have to be the strongest.  

She watched Gren, her eyes filled with worry as her hand gripped his. The Doctor watched this, watched the compassion nearly flow from her eyes.  She was increasingly perfect to be in this situation with, and that was why he was so happy to have her with him.  

Of course, there were many reasons he was happy to have her with him. He watched her as she urged him on.  "Come on, now, you can tell us. We wanna help."

"I don't know if I can let you in there," he blurted out, "You'll have to go see and try yourself. I don't know it-"

"We can try," the Doctor said impatiently, placing his hand on the table next to Rose's.  "Come on, Rose, we can go there now."

Rose shot him a dirty look.  "Now, hang on.  Did the man say anything?"

Gren said softly, "His name is Phillip.  He keeps talking about some girl. I don't know what he was talking about, because no woman came back with him. We thought he just might be crazy, but he started describing these things.  These... Aliens.  Scary things, the way he described them, but never in full detail. It was really quite strange."

Rose squeezed Gren's hand and released it, only for her own fingers to get wrapped up in the Doctor's.  She looked over at him and he just pretended he hadn't seen her.  She rolled her eyes and returned the pressure on his hand and he hummed in the back of his throat, dragging their hands below the table. 

"So, do you think we can get into the mental facility or not?" The Doctor asked.  "I highly doubt that the Rake is living in your forests, but the aliens, well, that's completely probable.  You, galaxy travelers and all, must know that."

Gren nodded. "Of course we do, but none have really ever been hostile, no one's tried to hurt us.  What species do you think they could be?"

The Doctor's first instinct was to shout cheerfully, 'not a clue!' and grin like a loon, but luckily Rose cut him off before he could say anything at all. 

"I certainly don't know," she said, "There's millions of species, it would be impossible to narrow it down on such little information, yeah?  So why don't you answer the Doctor's question?"

Gren turned to the Doctor. "I think you might be able to get in if you have a letter from me granting you access.  It seems that Phillip doesn't really have any family, after all.  No one ever came to see him when they first brought him in. Maybe he's just some wolf child or something that's never been raised by people." 

"Doubtful," the Doctor replied, "Very doubtful. Everyone has a reason for saying they had a traumatic experience.  The most probable reason is that they had a traumatic experience."  He smiled, trying to dull the sharp edges of his words. "How soon can we go up there?"

Gren shook his head, "Let me get you something to eat first, and then I'll show you where to go," he said.  "I want you to be our guests, to be comfortable."  

"Well, we have a ship to stay in, with plenty of bedrooms for us to sleep in.  I know that's where Rose is the most comfortable."

Rose nodded, having nothing else to say about it, really.  It was true, when they were on an adventure that was going to prove to be stressful, she wanted to be in her own room with her door shut and locked.  And if she asked, she knew the Doctor would join her, but she hardly ever asked, because it ratcheted up her anxiety when he was next to her.  She couldn't cuddle up to him and feel completely safe without feeling uncomfortable because she knew that he felt uncomfortable. So it was really in everyone's best interest that she stay in her own room, and he in the his own.

He looked over at her and smiled.  "I'll make sure to get her up bright and early though, to do whatever we need to do."

Gren didn't seem to find that very amusing, but he tried to force out a smile. "Yes, well, I'm certainly grateful for your help," he said, "We've heard the stories about you, and we can't imagine anything better than having you on our side.  The both of you. The Rake, it-"

"I doubt it's the Rake," the Doctor said again.  "That's a legend, Governor Gren, a myth.  It's really that simple."

"I'm sure people have seen him," Gren snapped back, "I'm sure!  You can't invalidate the word of the people without seeing for yourself, Doctor, don't you understand that?"

Rose blinked, surprised at the outburst.  "Of course, Gren.  We'll keep an eye out, the Doctor's just trying to say that things aren't always as they seem.  Things that might be seen in clouded eyes aren't always honest."  She smiled softly.  "Okay?"

"You've seen things, haven't you?"

"Uh, of course," she said, "I've been traveling for almost two years now, with the Doctor," she looked over at him, and he nodded earnestly.  Of course, that was obvious, the Doctor knew the time down to the hour with which they had been together.  He knew exactly how close they were and at what time they got so close.  He smiled and she turned back to Gren. 

He was narrowing his eyes at her. "The people around me are dying, Miss Tyler. Brutally at the hands of a strange creature in the woods.  Doesn't that scare you?"

Rose found that it did. That was the nightmare of many children back home, to be taken back into the woods and slaughtered violently.  She swallowed hard at the thought. "Well, of course that's scary," she said, "Lots of things are.  But you can't just sit back and take it, and what have all of you been doing since all this started?"

Gren clicked his mouth shut.  He, of course, did not have a word to say to that, because of course, all they'd done was fight with each other and cry for the lost.  Rose knew that, because of course, Rose knew loss, the human aspect of it, and she was able to read it like a book. Perhaps, even, more easily than the ever perceptive Doctor could.  

"I'll get you something to eat," he said, "Completely on the house."

"Thank you," the Doctor said, "We'll go right out after that and have a talk with Phillip.  Okay?"

Gren nodded. "Thank you," he said, "And... And thank you."  He seemed reluctant to thank them after Rose had put him so firmly back in his place.  The Doctor looked over and winked at Rose before scooting over so that they could sit closer to each other and more to the center of the booth.

"It is a little alarming," she said, tapping her thumb against his.  "Makes me nervous."

The Doctor looked at her worriedly.  "I don't... Should we... Do you want to go home?"

Rose rolled her eyes, "Come on."

"I'm serious, Rose, I can come back alone and take care of things."

"Yeah, and have you miss twelve months again?" Rose snorted, "Not bloody likely. I know you don't think it, but you could get hurt her just as well as I could and I wanna keep you safe. Got it?"

The Doctor winced at her tone but had to admit that he had expected it. "Yes, ma'am."

This would be the start of something very different indeed.  He could practically sense it.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor and Rose had plenty of time to think while they were waiting for Governor Gren to bring out whatever food he was preparing for them. Rose kicked her feet under the booth and waited for something to happen, for someone to say something.

It seemed that the Doctor was lost in thought as well, chewing at the inside of his cheek and looking right at her but looking like he wasn't really seeing her at all. Just staring blankly, his eyes pushing right through her to the wall beyond. She waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him back to reality. He blinked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's the Rake?" She asked abruptly, "I've never heard of it."

The Doctor sighed, acting very much as though this wasn't something that he was planning on telling her. But she had asked, and he was now obligated to do so. "A creature," He said slowly, "Close to your time, not quite. I'm not terribly surprised that you haven't heard of it," he scrubbed his hand over his cheek. "You don't believe in ghost stories, do you?"

Rose shook her head. "You know I don't. Is that what it is? A ghost story?"

"No, more sinister than that," the Doctor said, leaning over and taking her hand. She wasn't really sure if it was support for him for saying what he was about to or for her for having to listen to it. He didn't speak for a few moments, and Rose waited patiently, knowing that when the floodgates opened words were going to tumble out of him at full force and she was not going to be able to stop it. "It's a legend, an urban one. Urban legend," he furrowed his brows, seemed to be calculating. "Yes. It's a creature that attacks humans and if they survive, causes great psychological trauma."

"Does it sound like an alien you know of?" Rose asked, "That might be a good place to start."

  
The Doctor shook his head weekly. "It's humanoid, but it crawls on all fours, knees bent up to the shoulders, and that's how it attacks you. Springs up. I've heard about it for eons, the legend grows and builds when all the others fade away. We're far past your time though, Rose, and it seems to have grown to the point where people think it's real."

Rose bit her lip and thought about that for a moment before inhaling sharply. "Did you ever consider that maybe people think it's real because it is?" She asked. The Doctor opened and closed his mouth before regarding her with a stern glare. "Now, you stop that. It's not real."

"It's killing people."

  
"Something is killing people. And it's not a legend from the world wide web."

"That you know of."

"Rose."

"I'm serious! You're on the internet too, you know."

The Doctor blanched. "What?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. The first time I went you there was an article on the internet about you and I visited the guy that wrote it. He'd been studying you for a long time, he knew you were real, and I knew you were real, but do you think any other person in London, save Sarah Jane, would believe us?"

He set his jaw. "I didn't know any of that."

Rose furrowed her brows at him in confusion, "It wasn't really important."

He sniffed, and she could tell that, within that sniff, he was meaning to say, "well, I think otherwise" which made her roll her eyes and squeeze his hand.

"Now, you listen to me," She said, "Just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean it's out there. I think Gren and everyone else who feels fear in this town, or in the city, is relevant. I think maybe this thing is just something you might be scared of," she softened her tone, "A creature from your own nightmares, Doctor?"

"You know exactly what I have nightmares about," he said lowly, leveling an intense gaze at her that would've made a lesser woman shrivel. She watched him and he continued to stare at her. "We never should have come here."

"'Here' is where we're needed, 'here' is where the TARDIS brought us and if you think she's going to let us hop on board again and fly away from people who need help then you're wrong, Doctor. You forget."

"What do I forget?" He asked, confused.

"You forget that you're the Doctor," she said simply. He wanted to ask her what she meant by that, of course he did, but before he could Gren came out with two massive glasses of water. He stood at the head of the table and looked at them nervously.

"I have to attend to some things in the city, I can't remain here all day," he said, and scratched the back of his neck. "The people, to some extent, they need me."

"Of course they do," Rose assured him, "Everyone needs someone to lead them in a time of trouble."

Gren grimaced. "I just wish it wasn't me," he sighed, "I'm so glad I can be honest with the two of you. It's very difficult to pretend finding the body parts of the people I care for isn't unnerving."

"You shouldn't pretend that anyway," Rose replied, "You just can't let it... I dunno, change your decisions, how you would do things. You know?"

Gren nodded. "You are wise beyond your years, Miss Tyler. I will have someone bring out your food, but I must be off." He lifted up Rose's free hand and pressed a kiss to it before shaking the Doctor's hand in a very manly fashion and leaving the room, the curtain swinging merrily shut behind him.

"He's a good leader," Rose said conversationally, as though she hadn't brought up something monumental that the Doctor really wanted to talk about but also really didn't want to bring up. He ruffled the hair at the back of his head for a moment, wondering if he could pick up their previous conversation before remembering he didn't like having heavy discussions with Rose. Well, actually, he did rather enjoy having heavy conversations with Rose. She was very easy to talk to and she made him feel better and he made her feel better. He'd only let that happen a couple of times though, before he'd pulled back into his shell. No, this was a conversation best left dormant for as absolutely long as possible. He had to admit that it seemed like a ploy on her part, like she was trying to trick him into revealing something else about himself that she didn't already know. Oh, but Rose knew plenty, more than anyone else ever had, even if she didn't understand that. She had opened him up in a way that was challenging and he hadn't even realized he was talking to her. The Doctor didn't tell her any of that. He let out a strangled hum instead and said, "Yes. I think he'll serve his people rather well."

Rose cocked a brow, knowing this was him deflecting, even as she was hoping he would bring the questions of himself back around.  Of course he wouldn't do that, she thought to herself, that was part of who he was. 

"We'll go to the mental facility," he was saying, "And we'll talk to the man in there, see what his experience was. You'll probably hold his hand and I'll take notes."

Rose snorted. "And why does that matter, then, Doctor?" She asked, leaning on the table.

He shrugged, "It doesn't, I suppose, I just felt the need to bring it up. Seems to be very reassuring to people around you."

Rose smiled, leaning even closer to him and making him swallow very hard.  She tilted her head to the side and squinted at him, making him feel uncomfortable with her scrutiny.  "You're jealous!" She cried.

He blustered for a moment.  "No, no I am _not,_ there is no reason for me to be jealous of random people that you're trying to comfort."

She pushed her lip out in a mock pout. "Have I not been paying you enough attention in the two hours since we've been here?" She asked. 

"Don't... Don't do that, don't make that face," he said, scrunching up his nose and looking at her in distaste.  Rose laughed and leaned back in her seat, ceasing her teasing.  

"Okay. So that's your whole plan?  Talk to the guy?" 

"Yes," the Doctor frowned, "You have another one?" 

She shook her head. "No, not really.  But I think we should be a little more thorough. What about the Rake?"

"Don't call it the Rake," he scolded, "It's not the Rake."

She rolled her eyes.  "Well, we don't know that, do we?   _You_ don't know that.  We hardly know anything at all."

"Rose, it's impossible," he said gently, "You know-"

"That you say things are impossible when they're not," she interrupted, "It was _impossible_ for me to get back to you on Satellite Five.  But fortunately for you, it wasn't, actually.  Can't you just trust me?  Trust the people around you, that maybe they know exactly what's happening?  That even though you're the smartest in the room, you might not be the most knowledgeable."

She huffed and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.  Her eyes were glittering, not in anger, but with a fiery ambition that he knew was something she was never going to let go of.  

It was moments like that when he realized how special she was.  Even though she cared for him, she was not about to take away her own opinions for him.  And she really, _really_ wasn't going to do it because he was acting clever.      

Rose knew that to be true, even without him saying it. She knew exactly what he was like and she knew that he was an absolute- well, she adored him, but that was besides the point, really.  It didn't matter how much she cared about him, he was being ridiculous and she was going to take care of that right now. 

"You listen to me.  We're going to do 'Rake until proven not Rake'. You got it?" She said, raising her eyebrows. 

The Doctor's lip twitched into an almost smile and he saluted her happily.  "Right."

She smiled at him, their easy behavior around each other falling back into place.  She felt the tension in her shoulders relax and they started talking about the other things, the things that they fell so easily into. 

When diner came, it was two plates of heavy meat and potatoes.  Rose looked at it, and picked up her fork.  "That's a lot of food," she said, and almost tucked in before the Doctor waved his hand in front of her. 

"What?" She asked.

"I have to taste it first," he said, reaching over to take a little piece of her meat and potatoes and shoved them in his mouth.  She sat back and waited as he chewed and stared up at the ceiling.  Finally, he swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing deeply with the move and making Rose herself swallow, but not because she was eating.  

"Do you feel better now?" She asked him, smiling.  

He held up a finger and waited for another two seconds. "I was testing it for poisons," he said.  

Her eyebrows shot straight up.  "What?  Why?  You've never-"

"I don't know anything about this place, Rose," he said darkly, "You safe?  That's my top priority, and so I needed to check."

"We've gone to places that we've never been before, and you've never tasted my food before," Rose said.

He looked away from her. "Well, we _really_ don't know anything about this place, do we?"

"You have me there."

"Well, it's nice to see that you're going to admit I'm right at least once today."

She giggled. "Oh, is there a quota now?"

"Of course.  Tell the Doctor he is brilliant at least once a day or he will feel increasingly bad about himself."

"Not with an ego the size that the Doctor has."

He mock scowled at her.  "Shut up and eat your potatoes."

His tone was playful, but underneath, he had to admit he was worried.  What had happened to the man in the mental hospital and why, exactly, had the TARDIS brought them here?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phillip is based on the main character (but has a different name) from the 'Thumps' creepypasta. To be honest with you I do not recommend it for casual reading, it made my skin crawl and I toned it way, WAY down for this story. I only used it because it involves aliens and was suggested to me to add to this fic. Read it at your own risk, if you wish, but it is not necessary to read the fic.
> 
> WARNING for mention of a suicide (Not Rose or the Doctor)

Gren arranged for them to get to the mental hospital on a bus.  Rose wasn't fond of writing the bus, really, but sitting next to the Doctor in such an unsafe feeling environment was not as bad as riding alone.  He was holding her hand and had their interlocked fingers rested on his knee as she looked out the window. 

"So, Earth II," she said quietly, "Second verse, same as the first?" She grinned up at him.

He smiled back at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling.  "Not quite.  They're a bit more advanced here."

"Uh-huh, which is why we just walked out of a saloon."

He wrinkled his nose. "Well, even in your time there are people who continue to live in the past.  It's completely normal. They're used to the things that they love from long ago and so they stay that way.  Gren and his people just prefer a quiet, western lifestyle as opposed to the cities that are all around."

"I was teasing you," she said, watching him carefully. She hadn't been expecting that much of an explanation from him, and she was foolish to _ever_ expect anything from him.  It was nice to have things like that from him though, that affirmation that he wanted to let her in on what was going on. 

After what felt like several hours but was really ten minutes, they arrived in a city that looked very much like Manhattan in New York.  The Doctor told her that, of course, she didn't know what Manhattan looked like.  When she told him that, his eyebrows shot up to his forehead and he promised to take her there as soon as possible.  She giggled and rolled her eyes. 

"Doctor, it's impossible for me to go everywhere.  Wouldn't you much rather go somewhere that's far out in the universe?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Nah. You'll experience it all if I can help it."

He said it in such a blase manner that she felt herself choking on happy tears.  She doubted him on many occasions, but when he said things like that, it was very hard to doubt him ever again.  The Doctor continued holding her hand as they got off the bus and strolled through the city together.  He point out key features, some replicated from cities from Earth, some brand new with innovative architecture.  Rose pretended to be interested, but she really just liked letting his voice wash over her as she glanced around at beautiful glass structures.  

"Yeah, so that's the mental hospital?" Rose jerked her chin towards a tall white building with three red slashes and a cross on it.  "What do the slashes mean?"

"It's the official sign for 'the mind' in this era," he said happy she asked a question.  "There's a brief stint in time where people write in slashes as shorthand, just because they're lazy. That dies out when they realize it's harder to teach children the slashes than letters and words, but some things stick.  On the hospital, that seems to be one of them."

Rose nodded. "That's weird."

"Yeah," he agreed.

They walked straight into the hospital and a nurse cut them off on the pass immediately, holding a clipboard and peering down her nose at them.  Her skin glowed in a very pink sort of way and Rose blinked at the shock of it but didn't let it show on her face.  Instead, she smiled pleasantly and stepped forward before the Doctor could embarrass them and be rude.

"I'm Rose Tyler and this is the Doctor. Governor Gren sent us to interview a patient.  Phillip?"

The woman blinked, clearly not expecting an intelligent response out of either of them.  She opened and closed her mouth, and Rose saw that her teeth were sharp at the ends.  She almost cringed but again, managed to hold it back. 

"You... Governor Gren?" She narrowed her eyes and adjusted her nurse's cap.  "Well, can you give me your credentials to prove that?"

Rose nodded. "Doctor, our credentials?" She said, tilting her chin in a dominant manner. He swallowed very hard and fished around in his jacket before handing her the psychic paper.  She smiled and thought hard about what she wanted the nurse to see before handing her the paper. 

The nurse looked hard at the paper and, seeing no problem with it, handed it back to the Doctor. "very well.  You must understand, though, that Phillip is not entirely responsive.  I rather think he's gone completely insane."

"That seems to be the consensus," the Doctor said, sniffing and looking around as he shoved his hands in his pockets.  "We rather think we can help him, though."

"Well, you can certainly try," the nurse grumbled. "Room 3312, on the third floor. Go on up, I suppose."

"Thank you," Rose said pleasantly, and squeezed the Doctor's hand before dragging him to the elevator.

The Doctor laughed once the doors shut behind them. "Do you... Who _was_ that?" He said, looking down at her, eyes shining. 

Rose grinned, feeling very confident.  "Oh, yes, that was me, Rose Marion Tyler, taking charge before you got all rude on me."

He grimaced. "I wasn't really planning to be rude."

"You never _plan_ it, but it does happen, doesn't it?"

"I suppose."

She giggled at his disgruntled expression. "Now, don't feel bad," she cooed, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before releasing his hand and exiting the elevator.  He took several moments to follow her but was soon trailing her like a lost puppy, as he normally did. 

"Room 3312," She murmured to herself, glancing around and following the plaques on the walls.  "It doesn't smell like a hospital," she remarked over her shoulder. 

The Doctor fell into step with her gain and hummed his assent.  "Nope!  And it shouldn't.  Here, they've decided that hospital smell that people come to fear needs to be eradicated, so they do.  The air fresheners are subtle and so is the cleaner they use.  It's all delicate to keep up with the delicate noses of the people that stay here."

"Is it just humans?"

"No, there's plenty of others as well," the Doctor said, "But it's mostly a human population.  The majority, at least," he told her.  

She opened her mouth, he assumed to reply to something that he had said, but instead called out 'ah!' and rushed to the door marked '3312'. "This is it!"

He nodded. "So it is."

Rose knocked on the door. "Phillip? Can we come in?"

The Doctor decided that it was probably best that he was taking a back seat to this situation. Rose's nurturing side was coming out with this entire trip, and the Doctor wanted it to be that way.  She would be an incredible mother, he thought to himself.  He blinked suddenly.  He had no idea why he had thought that. It had stumbled unbidden into his head and he shook his head to clear it. 

"Come in," the man inside said roughly, sounding weak and small.  Rose found her heart already aching for the sick man.  She opened the door and peered in. 

"Hello," she said.  "I'm Rose. This is my friend, the Doctor.  We wanted to ask you a couple things, is that okay?"

The man who sat in the bed looked shriveled and worn, like he hadn't gotten any sleep for a very long time.  His eyes were shadowed and he was very skinny, his rounded elbows visible quite clearly.  The hospital gown he wore hung over him loosely, his collarbones protruding. He had a scruffy beard and dark hair, greasy and wild.  

His eyes looked practically dead and Rose felt her breath hitch in shock. She approached him slowly and waited for him to reply to her question. 

"It's alright," he said softly. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Phillip," The Doctor said warmly, smiling.  He sat down at the side of his bed and Rose sat down as well next to him, closer to Phillip's head. 

Rose rubbed at the back of her neck and looked around before looking at Phillip again.  "I don't know quite where to start."

"You want to know about the aliens," Phillip said gruffly. "Who I saw."

"Yes," The Doctor said, "That is what we need to know.  We're trying to get to the bottom of it."

"You believe me?" Phillip's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"Yes," Rose nodded.  "Of course we believe you."  She didn't think it was best to say that the Doctor was an alien, given the fear that the man obviously had about it.  

Phillip shifted uncomfortably. "It was this thumping. In my head, in my bones, over and over, and over. It didn't stop. They put us to sleep when we were going to get fed."

"Who's we?" The Doctor interrupted.  "You weren't alone?"

"I was with a woman," he said softly, "She killed herself."

Rose gasped softly. "I'm sorry, Phillip."

"She saw our captors, and they scared her.  I miss the thumps, we heard them all day every day, and now they're gone." he shoved his hands into his matted hair, clenching his fists around it.  "It was awful, she shoved a fork down her throat, I didn't love her but she was all I had, she was the only one that would've believed me."

"You don't deserve to be in here," Rose said fiercely. "You're of sound body and mind, the people around you are just closed minded and can't see that you speak truth.  What can you tell us about your captors?"

"Melissa saw them," Phillip whispered. "She said they didn't have mouths.  That the thumps come straight from their heads. I had horrible, violent flashes, not memories, like they were putting it into us on purpose."

Rose reached over and touched his arm. "It's okay," she said, "I believe you."

"You do?" he dropped his hands. "The doctors say they believe me, too.  But they don't, they're just lying.  Do you...  You really think that you can stop them?"

The Doctor blinked, wondering if he had read his mind.  He swallowed. "We can certainly try. Can you tell us where you were kept?"

"Underground," he said softly, "I think it was underground at least.  I was in a concrete prison.  They dropped me outside after I blacked out.  Got rid of me.  I don't think they liked that I was alone."

"Of course, nobody should be alone," Rose said encouragingly. "It's okay, Phillip. We want to help you."

"Can you get me discharged?" He asked. "I hate it here."

Rose smiled sadly. "We can try."

"Maybe not right away," the Doctor chimed in, "But we'll visit you until we can let you go, let you know what's happening, and what we're figuring out. Does that sound okay?"

Phillip's eyes filled with hope that made Rose's heart shatter into a million pieces. He looked like a lost little boy that was really just trying to survive.  He looked between Rose and the Doctor. "You'll visit me?"

"Of course," Rose said incredulously, "What'd you think, we were just gonna leave you here?"

He adopted a sheepish look. "Kind of," he admitted.  "I didn't want to hope that you would want to do anything but tell me I was crazy like everybody else has."

"Well, they're wrong," Rose said fiercely, "And we _will_ come see you, I promise.  Do you have a phone here that we can call and chat? Just in case we can't make it up here?"

Oh, this was domestic.  He could feel it creeping in his bones.  He was sitting in a hospital with Rose, leaning perhaps a bit too close to her and talking to a sick man about aliens.

Well, maybe not one hundred percent domestic then. 

"Can you tell us anything else? Do you know anything else?" Rose asked, seamlessly changing the subject.

"They fed us every day except for the day that Melissa saw them," he said, looking up at the ceiling as he recalled.  "They were.. Kind, but it was like they wanted something from us. But what would aliens want from humans?  What could they ever need from us?"  He looked at Rose, his eyes wide and full of questions that they only wished that they could answer.  

The Doctor shook his head, his dimple sticking out in his cheek. "You would be surprised, Phillip.  You would be very surprised."


	5. Chapter 5

They stayed for Phillip a little while longer, and somehow Rose coaxed his background out of him, seeing that he had managed to remember some after he had been dropped off by the aliens had held him captive.  The Doctor could tell that Rose was really just being kind, as they stayed much longer than the Doctor would've liked.  He kept calculating the time in his head to make sure he would get Rose back to the TARDIS in time, before nightfall, at least. 

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, there was something lurking about in the woods and he didn't want Rose to be around when it was out.  He'd like her to live through this trip, thank you very much.  He shifted awkwardly in his seat as Rose continued to chat with Phillip, leaning back and forward in his seat, crossing his legs and then uncrossing him. 

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you alright?"

"Quite!" He said, trying desperately to sound happy, and smiling at her. 

Rose rolled her eyes. "We'd best get going, Phillip.  Before dark."

Phillip's eyes widened and he nodded emphatically, his fringe flopping over his forehead.  "Yes, you must leave before dark.  Go, go.  Visit again."

Rose nodded. "Of course," she said, and got to her feet. "We'll see you soon."

"Okay," he agreed. "Thank you for coming.  And not calling me crazy... And being willing to help.

The Doctor reached forward to shake his hand, which made the other man look very confused. Rose realized with a pang to her chest that he had most likely not been treated like a real man in a long time.  Not being given handshakes was a simple but important thing, she realized.

When they left, the Doctor's hand was almost immediately around hers again. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.  "Are you alright?" He asked, sensing that she was deep in thought. 

She nodded and looked at him. "They know aliens exist. So why are they so closed minded- calling him crazy?  How could they do that?"

The Doctor sighed and squeezed her hand. "Perhaps it was the way he came back, stumbling out of a forest or something and rambling about a woman he'd been in there with.  Maybe she's from the other end of the world so no one thinks she exists."

Rose frowned.  "It's so sad," she whispered, "That she killed herself, thought there was no way out."

He rubbed his thumb over hers reassuringly.  "Well, you're a young Earth girl, just as she was.  What would you have done?"  He was genuinely curious, and hoping that her answer could help him crack the case. 

"I assume you would be with me," she said, "I really think you would be," she bit her lip, thinking about it for a moment. "I would never stop looking for a way out.  I'd be with you, or at any rate I would be thinking that perhaps I could get back to you, if you weren't there.  I'd think about my mum, and whoever I was with.  For me.... I don't know, there's always something to fight for." Her shoulders sagged. "I wish I could've helped her."

The Doctor felt his heart swell with adoration for her.  She just wanted to help, that was what she did, Rose Tyler protected people, just as he did.  She protected him too.  He looked down at her crestfallen expression and bumped her shoulder playfully with his as they entered the lift to go back down. 

"Rose, there was nothing you could've done to change her mind.  The brain is delicate and can be pressured by human suggestion, but not all the time."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "I guess you're right. I just wish it wasn't that way."

He had to admit that somewhere within himself, he agreed. 

They traveled back to where they had parked the TARDIS, only to be intercepted by Gren. 

"You can't sleep in your ship!" he cried hysterically. He was standing before the doors, and was the only thing in their way from getting in.  

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow.  "Gren? What's wrong?"

"You can leave if you're in here. No, if you promise to help us, you'll stay here."

"Where, Gren? There's no hotels here," Rose said rationally.  "The city is too far away to get back before dark."

"I have a spare room," he said, looking very anxious indeed at the idea that they were about to leave.  He nodded, as though trying to convince himself. "Please?" he said, "I need to know that the two of you won't take off."

Rose looked to the Doctor, letting him take the reigns, and he sniffed, manly pride running through him. "We'll stay then. But I won't let Rose out of my sight, do you understand me?"

Gren nodded. "Yes! Yes, of course, I just have the one room anyway!" he scurried away from them, looking over his shoulder for them to follow.

"He's panicking," Rose said softly.

"Yes," the Doctor said gravely.  "It's a time of crisis, one he doesn't understand.  We're his key to normalcy, he's scared to lose us."

Rose nodded, understanding. "Well, I have to pack a bag!" Rose said loudly, "And that's not up for debate either."

"The Doctor will stay out here," Gren said firmly. "For reassurance."

Releasing her hand, the Doctor moved to the TARDIS and leaned against it, arms crossed and one ankle crossed over the other, toe of his trainer in the dirt.  He lifted a shoulder. "Alright then.  Go on, Rose, get your stuff."

Rose disappeared into the TARDIS and the Doctor watched Gren. 

"You know, we're not going to leave," he said, "We can't.  It's not in our nature to leave a problem unfinished, especially when someone's life is at stake.  And certainly not after we've seen Phillip."

"How was he?" Gren asked, seeming calmer.  

"Fine.  He's not insane at all, regardless of what any of you say. He's not."

"I know he isn't," Gren admitted, toeing the ground. 

"So why is he in the mental hospital?"

"We can't fix him!" Gren said, annoyed. "He's seen things no one can understand or help him with.  He needs to be in a contained, safe environment."

"They barely treat him like a person there," The Doctor told Gren. "He's cared for and clean, but he's treated like a mental patient when he truly isn't one."

"He'll have to stay for now."

"I know that."

"So why are you telling me this?"

"So it doesn't happen again."

"You think another alien is going to stuff someone in a underground coffin?" Gren asked incredulously.

The Doctor nodded.  "Maybe so," he said, "You don't know.  And neither do I, really.  But you speak of the Rake as well, so there are two threats.  Don't you understand that?"

Gren had to agree, even though he really didn't want to.  "Yes." he admitted. "I do understand that."

Rose came out with a pink suitcase and a smile. "The TARDIS packed me a bag," she said to the Doctor quietly before taking another step forward out of the ship. "Okay, can we go inside before the sun sets all the way?" Her smile faded as she looked around. "I don't want to be outside much more."

"Of course," The Doctor said, taking her suitcase and nodding for Gren to lead them.  They were taken to what he supposed was the Governor's Mansion, or something to that effect.  Rose followed along, looking around her and noticing that even though the sun had not yet set, there were no people out and about.  She swallowed hard and wished the Doctor wasn't carrying her bag so that she could hold his hand.  She reached around and looped her arm through his.  He looked down at her and smiled warmly, making her feel a little better.

The Governor's mansion wasn't terribly furnished, in fact, it looked very much the rest of the sleepy tone. Rose had to wonder why a governor had decided to stay in a place like this instead of a bigger and nicer home. 

"Well, here's your room," Gren said, looking uncomfortable.  It was a large room with one big window and one massive bed. There was a vanity in the corner, a dresser,  and the door to an en suite.  All in all, it was pretty sparse.  Rose supposed that was because it was a guest room.  It looked comfortable enough, though.  She walked into the room and the Doctor followed, setting her suitcase by the dresser. 

"We'll be up at eight and not a moment before, Gren." The Doctor said firmly.

Gren nodded, knowing that there wasn't anything for him to do to change their minds.  He looked at Rose, who was kicking off her shoes and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Yes.  We'll discuss more at breakfast tomorrow."

"Sure," the Doctor replied, smiling tightly. He was uneasy that they weren't in the TARDIS, wishing that Rose was tucked up safe in her bed in her room.  Although, she might be safer with him.  They'd shared a bed before, it wouldn't be awkward. Not for her anyway, he thought bitterly.  It was very hard for him to... Well, that wasn't important.  What was important was keeping her safe through the night.  And through the next day, and for as long as they were her.  He shut the door as Gren turned away and after the man had left he locked the door.  

Rose arched a brow at him.  He gestured towards the door. "I don't trust anything here,' he told her, "And I won't, until we know exactly what's going on." he made sure their window was locked, drew the blinds, and then pulled the dresser in front of it, stacking Rose's suitcase on top of it.

"You seem scared this time," Rose said uneasily. 

The Doctor nodded tersely. "I... I am, this time. They're humans here.  I'm afraid for you, Rose."  He took a step towards her and cupped her cheek. It seemed innocent enough until her eyes fluttered shut and she turned into his touch. He snatched his hand away and looked at his palm as though he couldn't believe he'd just touched her.  

She sighed softly and stepped away from him. "Maybe I should get ready for bed," she pulled pajamas out of her suitcase and trudged into the en suite.  The Doctor blew out his cheeks and shed his shoes, socks, trousers, and all top layers but his undershirt.  So he was standing, in his pants and undershirt, waiting for Rose Tyler to come back to bed. 

He swallowed.  Time Lords did not perspire, but if they did, he would be sweating buckets.  As it was, he did feel a little warmer.  Okay, a _lot_ warmer.  But he was too busy focusing on Rose's safety to be worried about how she looked in her pajamas. 

Well.  Not _that_ focused. 

She came back out in blue shorts and a vest top, crawling straight under the covers.  The Doctor followed her, lying on his side to face her, so close they were almost sharing a pillow. 

She smiled up at him.  "It'll be okay," she promised, "We've got Phillip, and we've got plenty of alien experience too."

"Yeah," he said softly.  His brow was furrowed and Rose's smile fell.  She scooted forward and wrapped her arms around him, one wedged awkwardly under his shoulder.  He sighed and pulled her against him, arms around her back. 

There was nothing like having a cuddle with Rose Tyler.  Best mates could cuddle, after all.  They did it all the time, and they hugged, and held hands... Yes.  That was perfectly normal. And in this time of stress, Rose was ideal to cuddle with.  

"You don't need to be scared," she said softly, "But it's scaring me that you're scared."

He closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair.  He hadn't meant to frighten her, of course he didn't.  She meant too much to him for that.  He would never intentionally frighten her.  He curled around her, hoping to make her feel protected, and she burrowed into the embrace.  He felt her ribs expand in contract with a happy little sigh and it made him allow himself to relax.  He pulled the covers up around them and cuddled down with her, their breath mixing in the darkness of the room.

Her breathing evened out and she fell asleep, and with that encouragement, he pressed his nose against her head and followed her down.

 


	6. Chapter 6

She woke up feeling uneasy. She had dreamed about what Phillip had been talking about, what had happened to him.  She looked around and realized it was the middle of the night.  For a moment she forgot that she wasn't alone, until she heard a gentle little sigh from next to her. 

He was curled around her, his nose pressed to her forehead.  Rose's hand was on his waist, his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her so tight against him she had to wonder why she even thought she was alone for just a moment.  The warmth from his skin radiated off of him onto her.  

After a few moments, his hand skimmed up her back and he sighed softly.  He swam up from sleep, and his voice rumbled against her, "Why are you awake?"

"Why are you awake?" She countered softly. 

"You were awake," he said softly, "And besides, you're squeezing me so tight, how could I _not_ wake up?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. What's wrong?"

"I don't know," She admitted, long past hiding anything  from the Doctor when she knew that he was going to find out anyway.  "I just woke up feeling uneasy."

He shifted down, closer to her, and pulled the covers tighter around them.  He was clearly still half asleep, judging by the slur in his voice and the lethargy in his movements.  "You're safe with me, okay?"

"I know," she insisted, "But something feels wrong."

The Doctor shifted around for a moment, and pulled his sonic screwdriver out from God knew where and held it so it was against her hip.  "If anything comes, I'll kill them."

She lifted her head and looked down at him. "That's out of character for you," she said, only half teasing.  He blinked blearily up at her and closed his eyes again before tugging her back down to her former position.

"If something was going to kill you, Rose, I'd kill them."

Rose felt her heart swell happily in her chest at the very thought and she snuggled closer to him.  It was warm in the house, but she couldn't be bothered to move.  She felt too safe, wrapped up in his arms, in this bed.  She let her eyes fall shut and it only took a few minutes before she fell back asleep, to the gentle thudding of his hearts against her cheek. 

****

When she woke up for the second time, it was daylight and the Doctor was prancing about, tying his tie when she looked up.  He grinned at her, as though they hadn't cuddled all night and murmured about safety in the dark.  She had to swallow and close her eyes for a moment at just that memory.  

"You're awake," she said when she felt safe to open her eyes again without them staring at him in a rather lewd fashion.  

"Oh, yes!" he said, "Fully energized for the week, me!  Then I can watch after you all night."

So he did remember.  "You won't get bored?"

He furrowed his brows.  "No."

"Oh," She shifted uncomfortably and then rolled out of bed, walking towards her suitcase. "I'll go ahead and get ready, then. What are we gonna do?"

"Today?" He asked. She nodded and he scrunched up his nose.  "I think we should go into the woods today, to look around."

"Search for prints?" She asked teasingly, tongue in teeth. 

He beamed at her, sleep having restored his manic energy.  "Something like that, yeah," he said, "But first, breakfast."

Rose nodded and shuffled off to get ready, trying not to feel groggy, even though she was still feeling tired. She wondered if she hadn't slept soundly.  She had certainly _slept,_ but was it good sleep?  She'd heard somewhere that when a whole night wasn't slept soundly, it meant that something or someone was watching you. Or maybe that was a ghost story that Keisha had told her.  She really couldn't remember.  That was unnerving, as well. 

They went down and who Rose supposed was a servant dragged them down to a kitchen, saying apologies that Governor Gren was too busy to come down to eat with them.  And they wouldn't be eating in the dining hall, that was for certain.  Rose had expected this, what with the crisis crawling through Earth II.  

They were sat down with a hurried breakfast of sausage and toast.  The Doctor asked the servant to pack up a lunch for them, saying that they planned to be out investigating for a long time.  The servant looked incredibly nervous but promised to have some sandwiches packed for them by the time they were ready to leave.

Rose took her time eating, and for once the Doctor didn't wolf down his food.  He seemed to be a little willing to wait to go out, which was strange for him, but she was not about to ask him what he was about. 

"Well, alright then!  Let's go!" He said after they ate quietly, and clapped his hands together. "Now is as good as a time as any, don't you think?"

"Of course," Rose said, "Let's go."

 The servant had left them a bag at the door and the Doctor jammed it into his deep coat pocket, promising to dig it out when they both got hungry.  He reached his hand out without even looking over at her and she slid her hand into his, almost like a reflex.  Their fingers laced and intertwined like they were meant to do so.  He squeezed her hand and let them swing together, dragging her closer to him.  

"Don't you let go," he said. 

"I wasn't gonna," she said, "You okay?"

"I already admitted that I was scared, I'm not going to do it again," he teased, smiling over at her, but he knew his eyes, knew that look, knew how his eyes didn't light up with the rest of his smile, and she forced a tight smile back, unable to truly smile when he was so anxious. 

He probably wanted to go back home, which was the only time that Rose would ever think that the Doctor would go home.  He was usually the first to jump into things feet first, not giving a bother here or there whether or not they were safe. 

It was the fact that he was afraid that scared her so much.  He was _never_ afraid, because there was never a reason for him to be. He would simply regenerate.  She would die.  Maybe he was just now realizing that for the first time.

The forest loomed before them, looking darker than the rest of the town around them.  As primitive as it was, it was still open and well lit int he evening, and to walk straight towards the yawning pit of darkness was really unnerving.  She swallowed hard and tilted her chin up.  She had faced all kinds of aliens and people and she had never been nervous.  Well, maybe not never, but they were things she could really roll her eyes at the next day. This wasn't one of them.  

She let him lead her along into the forest, the darkness swallowing them whole. It seemed darker than it was on the outside, and Rose squinted, as if that was going to help.  The Doctor fished around for a flashlight and found it with a little crow of 'ah!' and flicking it on, he looked around the woods. 

They were barren.  There were no branches on the floor of the forest, which was something incredibly odd. The Doctor noticed it first, as he had seen more forests than Rose had ever seen. 

"Doctor," she said when she finally figured it out, "Are there ever storms here?"

"Yes," the Doctor said patiently, "There are.  Are you about to ask about the forest floor?

"Yes."

"Well, then, I think we might be on the same piece of information," he grinned at her, not that she could see it, since his flashlight wasn't pointed right at him.  He seemed to remember that after a moment and he grunted to himself before flashing the flashlight around.  

There were plenty of trees and bushes, but nothing else.  Somehow, though, there seemed to be nothing else. No weeds, no wildlife to speak of at all. 

Rose narrowed her eyes, this time in suspicion.  "I've got a question for you, Doctor," She said, putting her free hand in her hoodie pocket.  "I know you don't clean up after yourself, but does it occur to you that maybe this forest is so clean because someone made it that way?"

The Doctor made an odd, non-committal sound in his throat.  He stopped walking and flashed the light around a little more. "Well, you might be right." he got down on his knees and since he didn't have a free hand, Rose got down and put her hand in the dirt, like she knew he was silently asking her to do. Even the dirt felt clean.  It was like a zen garden, completely smooth, not a pebble in sight.

"Completely thorough," he whispered, watching the dirt sift through her fingers.  "I'm not sure what sort of creature would do something like this, or even one that could."

"The Rake," Rose said, standing back up.  Her voice was completely indignant, like she was daring him to argue with her. 

He took that up in a moment, even without realizing it, as he loved to argue with her, but not in a cruel way. If he could keep her in check just to keep her safe, it would all be worth it.  He stood up with her, gripping her hand tightly, his fingers squeezing hers white.  He held the light up so it was lighting both their faces, and he could look at her face and she could see how angry this was. 

"I'm pretty sure I told you that you were being ridiculous, Rose," he said, "Or I said something to that effect.  The Rake is a legend, plain and simple!  You should really think about that aspect of it a little more, don't you think?  You can look at it on your mobile when we get back if you want?"

Rose's eyes bored into his, and she saw that his were snapping wildly, as though he was ready to fight.  She was ready too, but she knew he wasn't completely serious, just because he was squeezing her hand so tightly.  If he was really angry, he would let her go, step away from her, get _angry._ And he wasn't doing any of that.  She didn't know how to read this part of him, and it was intriguing her. 

"So, then, what exactly is going on?" She asked, or more, demanded.  "Why don't you tell me why you don't want me to think about something that might be true?"

"Because, Rose, you're usually a very realistic person, and it's killing me that you can't see that you might be wrong."

"Repeat that to yourself," She snapped, "I'm tired of you thinking I'm inferior.  I'm just as good at this as you are, I've saved your arse plenty of times!"

Neither of them knew what it was, but they both felt the urge to keep fighting, as though the forest was cackling and shoving arguments at each other.  But they couldn't bear to let go of each other. Rose wanted to, wanted to pull his hand from hers, but he was holding her so tightly that she couldn't pull away if she wanted to.  

She scowled at him, waiting for him to reply, practically begging him to.  She saw conflict in his eyes and tried to ignore it, tried to be defiant, and found that she really couldn't manage it.  It was not like him, this _trip_ was not like him. 

"I've saved your _lovely_ arse many a time," he finally snapped harshly.  "I think you really need to understand that I am just trying to keep you safe."

"By not letting me have an opinion?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "Sure, Doctor, sure, of course!  Silly me!  What am I doing, trying to help you solve this thing?  I'm just a _stupid_ ape that you bring along to cuddle and talk to, is that it??  You don't really want my opinion!"

"I want you to be reasonable!" he shouted, sounding more like his last self than ever, his voice nearing a roar.  

She had a retort, and it sat right on the tip of her tongue, but just as she opened her mouth to release hell (but hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, after all) when a roar ripped through the forest. 

Both of them fell still.  It wasn't either of them, and upon looking around, they found that they couldn't find their way back out of the forest. 


	7. Chapter 7

"It wants us to fight."

"Why?"

"Because then it can sneak up on us."

The Doctor sounded only slightly afraid, that was the first thing that she noticed. He was still gripping her hand with a bruising force and she swallowed hard, afraid of what was coming, afraid to speak or move or _breathe._

His voice was steady and calm and usually that would make her less afraid, but when she couldn't see anything.  The forest seemed like it was getting even darker, and she didn't know quite what to do about it, really.  There was no where to go, no where that they could go to know that they would feel safe.  So she followed the Doctor's lead, staying perfectly still, her feet rooted to the ground. 

"Don't move," the Doctor whispered, as though hearing her thoughts.  He stepped closer to her and she felt a little more comfortable, knowing that he was closer. She didn't feel safe necessarily, but she relaxed slightly at his proximity. It was familiar. 

"Wasn't gonna," she whispered back.

There was no way to know if someone or something was coming, not with the barren forest floor.  She hadn't even heard the Doctor approach as much as felt him.  Rose tried to focus her senses on what was around her, even what was in front of her to try and keep the Doctor safe. 

She didn't know how long they stood there, frozen in fear.  The Doctor's breathing was even and slow, and that soothed her slightly.  Feeling stranded, so far away from him, she took another step forward and wrapped her free arm around his waist.  He rested his hand on her back, his other hand still holding hers.  

"Can you hear anything?" She asked softly, her mouth right next to his ear so she wouldn't have to speak loudly.

He shook his head, and she must have imagined the shiver that ran down his spine.  She could feel his hearts beating against her chest and she swallowed hard, waiting for him to speak.

"No," he said, "Well, I can, yes, but I can't hear anything coming, which I suppose is what your'e asking."

"Yes," Rose said, "That's what I'm asking."

"I'm listening, don't worry," he said, "We're just going to have to figure out which direction we're going to need to run."

"Can you see the end of the forest?" She asked, feeling slightly guilty for peppering him with so many questions.  "With your superior sight and all that."

He chuckled low in her ear and held her a little closer. "No," he admitted, "I can't see anything." 

That was a little disheartening, but Rose wondered if once whatever was chasing them walked away, they would be safe to wander about until they found the edge.  Rose shuffled one foot experimentally on the ground.  She didn't hear any sound when she did so and wondered if something was going to change around them.  Before, she could at least hear the sound of their feet on the ground.  

"Doctor?" She whispered, or tried to whisper, for she couldn't see anything at all.  She pulled back and looked at him and tried to say his name again.  She could only see the whites of his eyes, and they narrowed as he tried to read her lips with his superior eyesight.  She watched as he shook his head, trying to follow his eyes.  So he couldn't hear her either.  She swallowed, and couldn't hear that either, even as if came from her own body.  

Her heart was thundering in her chest, she could feel it.  She felt something creeping up behind her and buried herself in the Doctor's chest, not sure what else to do.  his hearts were still beating at a steady pace but his respiration rate was up, and that alone was enough to make her realize that whatever she was feling, he was seeing.

She could feel the rumble of his words in his chest but of course she couldn't hear him.  She seemed to get the picture when he grabbed her hand again with a readjusted grip and dragged her along behind him, away from whatever was coming for them.  She followed blindly, as she usually did with the Doctor, and he wasn't slowing his pace for her as he sometimes did, instead, going at full speed.  With her shorter legs, she was having trouble keeping up, her feet struggling to match pace with his. 

The blackness before them did not lessen and Rose felt herself nearly hyperventilating.  Her hands started to sweat and it almost made her slip from the Doctor's grip numerous times, but he was able to keep a hold on her.  Until, of course, he wasn't.  Her hand slipped from his and she saw him try and turn around, fear lighting him, but he seemed to wink out of existence.  That was because something had put its hand over her eyes and was dragging her away from him.

She screamed but heard nothing. The loss of her senses didn't stop her from fighting, kicking and biting, feeling no fur, only skin, telling her that it must have been a humanoid figure, and a very strong one, dragging her along with one arm, the other still covering her view. She didn't understand why that was something it felt it needed to, when she had only seen a little twinkle of the Doctor before he had been wrenched from her. OR rather, when she had been wrenched from him.  There was nothing much to do about it, though, except for to scream and cry and shout, struggling to get back to the Doctor. 

It was terrifying, not being able to see or hear, only fear. She grappled behind her, seeking for hair to pull or balance to throw off, but she only found naked skin and she grimaced, though she didn't let that stop her.  If he was naked, he'd go down easier.  Right? That had to be how that worked.  

Finally, the monster dragging her seemed to tire of doing this, fighting her, having something fight back, and threw her to the ground.  Her head collided with the ground and she fell unconscious. 

***

The Doctor stood stock still in terror.  He'd seen it, had tried to follow, but it had been faster than even him.  The Doctor prided himself on his fast running skills, and he knew Rose did well, too, but maybe he had gone to fast. 

Regret punched through him.  He was supposed to take care of her and he had let her fall, let her get _taken._ If he had carried her, she might had made it.. He shook himself, telling himself not to think like that.  Perhaps Rose would get dropped off back at the town and he wouldn't have to worry.

But as much as the Doctor wanted to be the optimist in the situation, he knew that he couldn't be. He was stranded int he middle of the forest, not sure where to go, unable to see and to hear. That was why he couldn't follow the creature more closely, and he wondered it perhaps that was the creature's intention.

It had looked like a human, but taller and lankier, and certainly, _certainly_ far more dangerous. He imagined that Rose had screamed, he had seen her fighting back as he chased after her, calling out to her when he knew that she couldn't hear him. 

He dropped to the ground where he currently stood and thumped his fist on the ground.  Is that really what was happening? W hat he had become?  He couldn't protect Rose, even as he gave his very life away to do so, would continue to give his life away to do so.

She was gone.  He cried out and felt his ears pop. Instead of feeling relief at being able to hear again, he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  That meant that the monster he had seen truly had Rose. Whether she was dead or just somewhere else, he couldn't be certain, and he wasn't sure he ever would be. But he had to try, he had to go based off of the assumption that she was still alive. he sighed heavily, the sound shuddering as it came out of him, and he hated it.  He hated this. 

But he couldn't afford to feel sorry for himself, that wasn't the job. He hand't done that since he met Rose, and there was a reason for that. He need to find her. If she didn't make it, he would never forgive himself, almost even more so than the pain and guilt he had felt after the Time War. Because she healed him, and if the reason he was still breathing was the one he killed, he wasn't sure how to go on.

And they had fought, just before she was taken. He continued to wander in the direction he knew that she had been taken and hoped he would stumble across her. There was not much else he could do, not under the circumstances.  

He walked for what felt like hours, never tiring, never feeling hunger or thirst.  All the senses, the human ones he had and the ones that were single to Time Lords, were honed in on Rose.  How her perfume smelled, the exact shade of blonde her hair was.  Every minute detail was filed away so that he could reach out and grab her when she came close enough.

His hand twitched, suddenly feeling the emptiness about not having her hand in his.  There were parts of him that wanted to go mad searching for her, and most likely would, if it had been anyone but Rose. She would need him sane.  She was completely sane, a level headed woman, especially now, and she had far more of a right to be afraid than he did. 

But she wasn't dead.  No.  He would make sure of that. He would kill the laws of Time to bring her back if she was gone, force her back into his arms. He would not live without her.  His hands clenched in fists at his sides in determination, lengthening his strides to get closer to Rose. 

Suddenly, as though part of a vital plan on the part of the monster, he was blinded for a moment and thrust out into the town.  He fell onto his front, his hands just barely catching him, and his breath went out of him.  He gasped for breath as he sat back on his heels, and the whole town was surrounding him, staring down at him, worried looks on their faces. 

The Doctor blinked, surprised, and brushed off his suit as he got to his feet. "What's going on?" he demanded, "Why are you all out here, what are you doing?"

Gren pushed through the crowd and stared at the Doctor, his eyebrows drawn in and up in worry.  He was twiddling his thumbs, looking anxious.  "We were wondering when you would come back."

"We just left this morning," The DOctor got shakily to his feet, "And all of you listen to me, Rose has been taken.  No one is to go into that forest, do you understand me?  No one. I don't care if there's a life saving crystal in there, or whatever the hell you believe, you will _not_ go in there."

The people nodded, their eyes wide, and the Doctor realized he must have looked quite intimidating, as he was standing over them, his eyes boring into theirs.  One man was simply cowering and could not look the Doctor in the eye.

"Doctor, I don't think you understand what has happened," Gren said slowly.

"Oh I understand plenty. I understand that my best mate got taken by some sick creature and I can't find her. The forest chucked me out on my arse and you all expect me to be calm and listen to whatever it is that you have to say? Go on, then!  What's so important?!"

"What's that problem?" Gren stuttered.  "Rose is _gone?"_

"Yes!  Rose is gone!" The Doctor screamed, not stopping for any sense of propriety or politeness.  There was not time, not now. "And I plan on finding her, so you'd better hurry up and tell me what's happened!"

Gren swallowed and everyone in the room exchanged glances before Gren finally said, "Doctor, you and Rose went into the forest three days ago."


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor felt his jaw drop. This had not happened, not really, since the first time he tried to bring Rose home. Unbidden, he felt anger rise in his chest.  "What do you _mean_ it's been three days?" He demanded, his voice climbing to a shout.  The crowd winced and there were murmurs throughout, as though someone was trying to figure out the best thing to say and really just couldn't manage it.

"It has been three days," Gren said slowly, "We were worried.  None of us were brave enough to venture into the forest, so we called your names but no one replied.  We didn't know what to do."

The Doctor straightened, tugging on his tie and trying not to think too hard about Rose.  "I can't say I blame you.  And I don't," he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "But we weren't gone for three days.  We were gone into the afternoon, at most.  Look," he pulled out the food they had been given, still fresh from that morning, and showed Gren, who gaped a little at the look of the food. 

"What?" He asked, as if to himself.  The people around Gren and the Doctor gasped and murmured, chatting up as if they were all coming up with their own explanations as to what, exactly, was going on.

"I've... I think I've figured out what's going on, inside the forest."  The Doctor admitted slowly, as he thought to himself about what he had seen.  The humanoid body, the hand covering Rose, the light leaving her eyes as she disappeared from view. He gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat with it.  "To some extent, at least," he said, hoping that they wouldn't put too much trust in him.  

"Go on then, tell us!" A woman in the crowd who reminded the Doctor quite of Jackie Tyler said snappishly, crossing her arms. "What's happened in there?"

"It seems to be in a time stream of its own," the Doctor started, "Since time is running at a different speed."  He realized that he was going to have to explain things slower, because he wasn't talking to Rose, he was talking to people far less clever who would not understand the things that she did. 

No one understood the things that she did.

He cleared his throat and sniffed.  "Anyway," he said sharply, "There's nothing I can do about it. But time runs slower in there, so whoever goes in there might be safe, for a time.  Like, if I were to go in and look for Rose right now, I would have more time than an average situation."

"Will you?  Go and look for Rose?"

"Of course," The Doctor frowned, "Why wouldn't I?'

"No one has been recovered from the Rake."

"You don't know it's the Rake," the Doctor snapped. "You _don't._ It's the most similar thing tot he Rake that you are aware of, but that doesn't mean that's what it is."  He glared around at all of them.  "You need to understand that whatever this thing is, it wants you all, humans, dead.  It didn't come after me, it came after Rose. It was faster than her and it took her."

He was panting now, even though he hadn't been yelling. He was just so overwhelmed, and it grabbed him by the gut. he couldn't control it, this flaming anger at Rose being missing. He'd lost Rose before, but he'd always had faith in her.  She'd looked afraid, in the one moment he saw her.  Even in the worst of times, he didn't think he'd really ever seen her look afraid. 

But this was different.  And he didn't know what to do.  He found that he was nearly dependent on Rose being by his side.  But it couldn't be that way forever, and this just set out to remind him that.  He blew out his cheeks and rubbed his hands through his hair again. 

"I'm not sure quite what to do," he admitted, "But I have to do something. You all must understand that Rose comes first to me."

"Of course," Gren said, "But you will look out for us as well."

"The way I see it, as long as you don't do anything that requires you going in that forest, you should be fine.  Do any of you even know what's in there?"

Everyone in the group surrounding the Doctor shook their heads, and it was clear that they didn't really know what they were going into.  They just wanted to make sure that they were safe, but they had to wander about and be confused to understand that.  

"Of course you don't."  He glared at them. "The forest floor is completely clean, and there is nothing out of place.  Whatever is in there is very anal about everything it does, and I do _not_ want any of you going in there to try and study it, do you understand me?"

Everyone nodded, their eyes as wide as saucers. It seemed that no matter where the Doctor went, he would be listened to. That was one thing that brought him a little bit of a safety net, one thing that was familiar.  It was only ten minutes before he found himself reaching for Rose's hand and finding that it wasn't there. 

****

Dark.  Dark, dark, dark, dark, dark.  That was all Rose could see, all around her.  She was still in the forest, but she didn't know where in the forest.  She could hear again, but just barely around the ringing that was now in her ears.  She opened and closed her mouth, opening her jaw as wide as it would go in an attempt to pop her ears.  

Next to her, but far away next to her nevertheless, was the creature that had taken her. It was breathing hard and scaring her, but she was breathing deeply, making sure that her heart rate was steady and calm.  She couldn't afford to panic, not now.  She was sure it wouldn't make things any better for her or the Doctor, if it came to that. 

She was sitting cross legged, her ankle throbbing in pain. She wanted to speak to her captor, to see if it understood any English.  She reached out and touched wood, and realized that she had been unknowingly put in a sort of primitive little prison. It was so dark around her that she hadn't even noticed.  On top of that, she also noticed that there was no way she would be able to knock down the thing and get out of there without alerting her captor that she was trying an escape.  

The Doctor would be worried sick right now.  She calculated that it had been at least a couple hours since she had been separated from him, and she had seen the glint of his eyes, and that was all.  She wished she had seen more of him. After all, what if that was the last time?  She didn't want there to be a last time when she saw the Doctor, but with a life like theirs, things were unpredictable. 

Her captor breathed heavily still, and she wondered if something was wrong with it, if it was sick. Its breaths were rattling and ragged and she winced with each intake of breath that it took.  It might not even want to kill her.

Still, she had to consider the option that it definitely wanted her dead.  She didn't know if there was anything around her.  She decided that she would never know unless she called out.  Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and she found that she couldn't calm it down this time, so she breathed out a long sigh and decided to speak.  

"You keep it very clean here," she said lowly, trying not to startle it, "Hello."

In response, she heard the creature let out a terrified scream and rustle around in the dark, as though it was hiding.

"Hello?" she said again.  The thing whimpered in fear. 

Was it afraid of her, or afraid of the fact that she could speak?  Rose shifted up onto her knees, wincing at her ankle.  It was really starting to throb now, and she wondered if it was sprained or broken.  

"Hello!" She shouted, smacking her finger against the cage.  "Hello, hello, hello!"

The creature roared with rage and Rose wondered if she had pushed it too far.  She suddenly felt the presence of it standing over her, its rattling breaths deeper and more painful. Somehow, though, it never needed to cough, which was unnerving. Didn't it need to clear its throat?

It did not speak, but it did grumble, just a little.  She sat back down on her bum, and once she did so, the creature moved back to its post and sat down heavily with a gruff sigh. 

Rose laid on her back, testing how large her cell was. It was the width of her body plus a few inches and she found that perhaps this was an alright spot, as far as prisons went.  After a couple hours, she realized that it was growing colder.  She tucked her knees up under her hoodie and curled her arms in around herself and shivered.  Okay. Maybe not an alright spot at all.

God, and that thing was naked. How was it even managing at all?

****

The Doctor paced for three hours, downed four cups of tea, and had not opened his mouth in all of that time.  This concerned the villagers, as they realized that this was abnormal for the Doctor.  Gren was worried as well, sitting in the same room as the Doctor with his eyebrows furrowed.  He wanted answers just as much as everybody else, perhaps even more so, since he was their leader.

"I don't know what to do," the Doctor said softly, "I think what needs to happen is... Is... The other people in the cities near here need to be alerted.  Can you do that, Gren?  Can you tell them what's happened?  No one can come here, not anyone that doesn't already live here."

Gren blinked in surprise at hearing the Doctor's voice after so long. He nodded and got to his feet (or scrambled more like) and said, "Of course I can!  I'll take care of everything, don't worry, Doctor!  What else do you need?" 

He seemed so eager to please that the Doctor almost regretted that he didn't have anything else to add. That was truly it.  He didn't know what else to do, except for throw himself into the forest again, which he knew Rose wouldn't even want. In truth, that was the only thing that kept him from doing so.  He would do anything that she wanted him to, if she looked at him with those big eyes of her and tagged a 'please' on the end. That theory had been proven true time and time again, after all. 

"Nothing else," he admitted to Gren, "I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet. I would like to figure this out without going to the forest, if that makes any sense."

Gren called around to the neighboring cities and the Doctor called Phillip, explaining calmly what happened, and was hardly surprised when the man burst into tears. 

"I'm going to find her, Phillip."

"No one else can get lost," he said, "I can't handle that."

"I know you can't," the Doctor said, trying not to feel as though he should snap back about how much _he_ lost, thank you very much.  "But I will still come up and visit you."

"You will?" Phillip's voice sounded cloudy and surprised on the phone.  The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed he and Rose had shared the night before. 

"I will. I'll come up tomorrow, how's that sound?"

"Good.  Thank you, Doctor.  For treating me like a person."

The Doctor rang off and didn't even think about laying down to sleep.  Even if he needed to, which he didn't, he wouldn't do so when Rose was out there, not able to sleep in a warm bed with him.  He couldn't wrap himself around her tonight, protecting her from any harm from outside.  

Instead of sleep, he crept into a different room of the mansion to use a computer, and researched the Rake.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the slow updates on this. It's a harder one to write, I hope I'm doing alright :) This chapter is a lot of description, but don't worry, the Doctor will crack his knuckles and get down to business soon enough

The Doctor sat with his chin in his hand, staring down the computer.  His glasses were perched on his glasses, his tie loose around his neck.  He felt his eyes growing heavy, from the way he was staring at the screen.  

His brain was growing tired, which was quite the feat for him, but he was certain it was because he had not been able to turn his thoughts from Rose since she had gone missing.  He wondered if she was still alive.  Humans were so fragile and Rose was so _young._ She was strong, yes, but she would not be able to fight off a semi-immortal being.  Not without him, at least. 

From what he learned of the Rake, he found that occasionally, it made people kill themselves, or at least want to.  It 'got in their heads' which told the Doctor that it might be at least slightly telepathic.  He found that according to the legends, it broke into the houses of families.  He frowned.  Then why had it not come into the town?  And why had it taken Rose?  Her mother was her only family?  Unless it had thought that he was more to her than... He shook that thought off quickly.  No.  Anything with as much knowledge as that creature would have to know that he and Rose were not together. 

It had made them fight. That was something he could not find anywhere on the internet.  There were no recollections of people fighting with the Rake, only people knowing that it was the Rake, having it whisper names or kill their children.  The Doctor shivered at the very thought.  His main concern, the only concern he could manage to focus on, was that the Rake had already killed Rose.  That precious girl could be gone and he would never know.  He had to find her, and it became that simple within an instant. 

He carded his hand through his hair once and stared back at the computer.  He had to go back into the forest. That was the only way. A niggling, irritating voice of self-preservation objected, saying that going in after Rose could be his death sentence.  He brushed it off.  He had died for Rose once, and he would do it again in a heart beat.  There was nothing more important than her... Not anymore. 

It spoke sometimes, the Doctor found that out rather quickly.  To a child before killing her, or the occasional pair of lovers. He chewed his thumbnail nervously.  Was that what made people want to die?  Was it something so impossible to live with that they just didn't want to do it anymore?  

He knew Rose wouldn't succumb to that, she had already proved that she would go to great lengths to find him again.  This time, however, he was going to have to change things up, make them as they always should have been.  As they had been in the past, and less so, now. He had forgotten she was human, equated her to a Gallifreyan in his mind because he saw her as an equal.  But that simply wasn't so. She was human, and fragile, and so beautifully delicate that if she died, he was going to have to follow her. 

This time, he was going to go to great lengths to find her.  And he was determined that he was going to find her alive.  She was too strong to die in a dark, pristine forest cleaned up by a mad sort of monster that had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

He chewed on his lip (a habit he had adopted from her, though he was a bit blind to that fact) and turned the computer off before creeping back to his room.  He had to get some sleep: he was no use to Rose dead on his feet, as much as he would like to pop up and say that he had so much stamina he could go weeks without sleeping. 

And normal, he could. 

But not now.  Not when he was so fixated on Rose coming back to him that he couldn't see straight.  Not when he had apparently spent _three days_ in the forest with Rose. 

He felt an overwhelming wave of guilt wash over him.  He hadn't meant to fight with her. He had said things he could never take back now, and he wanted to take them back, to fall on his knees before her and beg her forgiveness. She had said things too, after all, but he couldn't fault her for a single word that had fallen past her lips. 

He took off everything but his pants and undershirt and fell under the covers, feeling much more unsafe than he had the night before. Something about the warm body of Rose Tyler next to him, slightly on top of him, had reassured him, made him feel safe.  Now, the other side of the bed was cold and he could not drag her over to him, hold her close.  He could smell her perfume on the sheets, somehow, after three days, but it wasn't enough.  Her breathing wasn't there, soothing him to sleep.  She wasn't there to hold onto, and his hands twitched slightly at the thought of reaching over to her.  

He curled into himself, on his side, every opening in the room blocked and locked so that he could at least feel safe.  After awhile, though, it became clear that he wasn't going to be able to sleep because he kept thinking about how she wasn't safe.  He blew out a heavy sigh and sat up.  His exhaustion was eating at him, telling him to sleep, but he couldn't be comfortable knowing that Rose was still lost in the forest.  And that was best case scenario. 

After several hours, he quite literally passed out, as he was still sitting up when he lost consciousness.  His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the mattress, and he was asleep, though against his will, for the rest of the night.

****

Somewhere around hour eight, Rose started singing.  She wasn't sure why, only she knew that she was bored and if the thing wasn't going to kill her, she might as well entertain herself.  She traced her fingers in the dirt and let the singing taper off, listening to the monster rustle next to her. 

"Why do you yell when I talk?" She asked suddenly. 

The thing whimpered angrily, and shuffled towards her.

"Can you speak?" She asked it softly.  It did not reply, and she was discouraged as she could not even see its eyes gleaming in the darkness. 

She laid on her back, just enough room in her little cell to do so.  "Just so you know, you really hurt my ankle. It _really_ hurts."

The monster yelled again. 

Rose wanted to shout at it to shut up, because obviously this was not the best move.  She didn't want to make it angry, she certainly didn't want to die.  She had a feeling that if the Doctor had left her, it wasn't by choice.  She was confident that either he would come for her or she would escape and go back to him.

However, it really was quite irritating that the thing beside her had to yell like she had stabbed it every time she spoke.  She blew out her cheeks and fell completely silent, giving her voice a rest. 

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, though.  Why did it want her?  Why hadn't it taken the Doctor as well?  Where _were_ they, exactly?  And why was the forest so clean??  Of course, she couldn't ask.  It either didn't speak or the screaming it was doing was its way of communicating, and she couldn't understand that.  

She sat up and touched her ankle, hissing in pain when her fingers connected with the swollen skin.   She couldn't see it, but she had a feeling that it looked even worse than it felt.  She also had a feeling that if she escaped she would not be able to hobble back to the Doctor in time.  He was right.  She was a stupid ape.  How had she even managed to injure her ankle? Was it after her captor had knocked her out?

The thing perked up next to her, she heard it rustling, and then it shot off into the forest. She saw a light streak as it took off and blinked.  Was this her chance?  Or was it a test?  For a  few moments, she sat quietly, her body feeling as though it was electrified.  She could do it, she could run.  She shifted part of her enclosure, when a booming voice filled her head. 

"DO NOT RUN," it spoke, straight into her mind.  She cried out and gripped her head, trying to force it out. 

"FOOLISH CHILD," the voice was deep and thundering, a gentle thump corresponding with that terror of the voice in her head. 

She was used to the TARDIS, and the Doctor had been in her head, once before, right before he had regenerated, she had felt it.  She had been comfortable with that. This was an invasion of the most personal privacy that a person had, and Rose found that she could not force whoever it was out. 

"Please," she whimpered, pressing the heels of her hands into her temples. 

"YOU WILL NOT LEAVE," it said, and it sounded as though someone was yelling the phrase on either side of her, into both of her ears. 

"Doctor," she cried out, wondering if he could hear her, if he could sense this, simply because he was telepathic.

"I AM THE RAKE.  WE ARE THE RAKE."

"Help me..."

****

The Doctor was finely attuned to Rose's senses, though it could not be called a telepathic bond.  He was aware, though, in the middle of the night, that something had tried to get into her mind.  It was impossible for him to reach her, since they were not bound in the way that a married couple on Gallifrey would be, and he racked his brain for options.  He would not be able to reach her, not like this, not fast enough.  Oh, but he wished he could.  Instead, he did the next best thing that he could think of, and sent an alert to the TARDIS via his own telepathic connection, telling her to stop the intruder.  His heart filled with hope.  For something to get into her mind, she would have to be alive.  

She was in pain, and by extension, he was in pain, waiting anxiously for the TARDIS to do something as she reached out and tried to find Rose with her telepathic senses.  He had no doubt she could, he only wished that she would do it faster.  

The humming of his ship filled his mind, soothing him.  After several minutes, the TARDIS sent an affirmative wave and then promptly ignored him, telling him in no certain terms that she was taking care of it. 

****

Rose's fingers curled into her hair and she rocked back and forth, trying to figure out what the thumping was in the back of her head.  Then it dawned on her. 

Phillip had spoken of the thumps, of the aliens, of how the thumps had come from them.  

And then she felt walls coming up in her mind, heard the hum of the TARDIS as she pushed away whatever was in Rose's mind.  It filled her with heat of battle as the TARDIS fought for dominance in Rose's head, but the host was fighting back, and Rose tried her best to help and push it out as well.  The TARDIS cried out in anger and shoved the other presence back and huddled around the girl's mind, protecting it from any further attacks.  Rose felt her eyes cross and she passed out, her brain, oh so human, tired of fighting what she had never fought before. 

****

He was shaking, fear racking through him, until the TARDIS returned to his mind and announced that she was in Rose's as well.  He blew out a sigh. She would be safe.  At least, in her mind.  The Doctor, his hearts pounding and hands curled around the covers, did not sleep for the rest of the night.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor found himself up in a cold sweat, pacing the room. The TARDIS was trying to soothe him, saying that for now, Rose was safe, the ship had built her barriers back up to a Time Lord level.  She was doing well, the TARDIS reassured him, but he didn't feel _safe_ without her being safe. 

He wrung his hands, the clammy skin sliding over itself almost painfully.  He wanted to go back into the woods, but he had promised that he would keep up with Phillip. He scrubbed his palms over his face. This was ridiculous.  It was _unfair._ Rose should be right here, trying to solve this mystery from afar. That was what she deserved. 

The TARDIS was humming in his head, but there was no tone to it, and he wondered if she was with Rose as well, keeping her barriers up to protect her. The very notion that she was alive was helping his nerves quite a bit. Although, he was still very uncomfortable with her current situation. 

He had never worried this much about a companion.  He had worried, of course, but never quite to this extent.  Parts of him still wanted to solve the mystery, but the other parts of him were begging with him to _sod_ Phillip, _sod_ the whole mystery, and go save Rose before getting off the planet. 

Resigning himself, he prepared to visit Phillip. He was not as nurturing as Rose, of course, but the man still needed some sort of companionship, and perhaps it was best that he didn't get it from Rose just so he wouldn't get too attached to her. The Doctor's jaw set at the very thought of him getting a bit too friendly with her. 

Of course, that was a very foolish notion.  She was more than something for men to pine over. Though, of course, they did. His mind began to wander as he boarded the bus to head down to the city, and the people of the town avoided him, sensing his brooding mood.  

Rose was a beautiful woman. Not a girl, like he had tried to think when she came on board with him, but a _woman._ How long would it be until she got tired of him and went off to live a human life with a human man.  At some point, she would not want to be around him, stodgy old Time Lord that he was. 

He was surprised with how sick the very thought made him.  Bile rose in his throat.  He couldn't lose her.  Not after all this.  He clenched his hands and unclenched them, fighting the urge to reach for a hand that wasn't there.  If he didn't save her, he would never forgive himself.  Which was exactly why he had to save her.  There was nothing else for it, really, no option, no notion of defeat. If the Doctor could not save Rose Tyler, then by extension, he could not save himself.  And if he was honest with himself, he could not determine which was worse.

Phillip was sitting up in bed, hooked to a brainwave monitor, when the Doctor arrived.  He almost sneered in disgust at what the doctors were doing to him.  He wasn't sick, they just couldn't accept that something bad could be happening that they didn't understand.  But it was, and his bast mate that he'd ever had was suffering through it.  

"Hello, Doctor," he said softly, sounding weary. 

"Hello," the Doctor took a seat next to the bed and leaned back in it. "How are you doing today?"

"Fine," Phillip replied.  "I've tried not to act like a mental patient. I think that maybe if I calm down they'll let me go."

The Doctor smiled in spite himself at the young man's spirit. "Not a bad plan," he relented.  "And what are you going to do once you get out?"

"I don't know."

"You haven't thought about it?"

He smiled timidly. "I sort of have one thought at a time, one goal.  Keeps me from thinking about everything that happened, what they did.  I wonder what they were trying to accomplish."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. "Well, there are plenty of reasons that aliens attack. Or, in your case, observe.  They might want to know more about the planet, or the people, and it might be completely innocent. Or it could be malicious.  I don't know."  he squinted and looked over Phillip's head for a second.  "I don't know how to find out which right now. I've got one goal right now too."

"Rose."

"Rose." 

"I'm sorry," Phillip seemed distressed suddenly, at the mention of Rose. "I don't want anyone else to die, Doctor. Not after this."

The Doctor shook his head. "She isn't dead," he said, "My ship, the TARDIS, is watching out for her."  He ran his hand through his hair, "Something tried to get into her head telepathically last night.  The ship got it away from her."

Philip blew out a sigh of relief. "Well... Wait.... I don't...  The things they did to us... That was telepathic."

"Correct."

"Could it be that maybe the Rake and the things that took me are the same?"

The Doctor frowned. He had honestly never thought about it.  He had thought about both problems as separate, and never the two shall meet.  He rubbed the back of his neck.  "It's entirely possible," he said, "But my ship hasn't alerted me to any thumps."

"Maybe they're hiding it from your ship," Phillip suggested. "They obviously don't want to get caught, and if they're telepathic, they know exactly what happened last night, don't they?"

"Well, yes."

"Then they could cover up some of their genetics, couldn't they?"

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, and furrowed his brows. "I don't know. There's a way for Time Lords to take away their genetics, but I've never heard of it being done with any other group of species before.  But I suppose it's possible."

Phillip fell back on the pillows of his bed. "I hope that she's alright."

"The TARDIS will tell me if anything is wrong, if she can reach me."

"There would be an instance where she could not?"

"Perhaps."

"Are you going to search for her today?" Phillip asked, looking a little anxious.

"I thought I should come and see you first."  The Doctor said slowly, folding his hands.  "It wouldn't do for me to disappear without you knowing where we had gone.  Time seems to pass differently in the forest. Slower."

Phillip picked at one of the wires that was taped down to his arm.  "I think you should go see if you can find her. Now."

The Doctor pursed his lips. "I know."

Phillip looked up at him pleadingly.  "Go on, then, please.  You have to find her.  No one else can die."

He was repeating himself, and the Doctor realized that panic was setting in.  He stood and reached to shake Phillip's hand. "Good man. I'll come back and visit."

"Okay.  Not too soon, though, you have to find Rose."

"I know.  I'm planning on doing everything that I can."

The Doctor left the hospital, and Phillip had caught a glimpse of the Oncoming Storm. 

****

Rose had not moved since her barriers had been put back up. She lay on the ground, her arms and legs curled in, and she shivered.  She could have shivered for hours, were muscles clenching and cramping and becoming sore.  She wanted to go _home._ Every time she even thought about moving she was afraid that the monster would shove itself into her mind. That was the last thing she wanted.  It physically hurt her and she didn't know it was possible to feel a pain that personal.  

The monster had not returned to sit next to her, and she listened for it intently, her ears perked and eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't think of anything but trying to stay awake.  She was exhausted from shivering and couldn't fall asleep.  She wouldn't allow herself really. The moment she felt the darkness creep in from sleep and not the world around her she felt as though she was going to die.  Would it kill her, if she slept?

Her mind was bombarded with a torrent of thoughts about how to escape, how to free herself.  But obviously the monster wouldn't let her free, so how was she to go?

She didn't know how long it had been. It could have been days or years and she wouldn't have known the difference.  In here, she had no sense of time.  It was frightening and she wished she had the Doctor with her. 

For a few moments she felt guilty for such a thought.  She could not wish the Doctor into a situation like the one she was currently in.  She cared about him too much.  He was too important for him to be here.  She couldn't go on without him.  She didn't know when that had happened, but it did, and she couldn't move on. She wouldn't.

The monster returned, sitting down next to her little cage with a furious, rattling sigh. Rose cringed. She wondered if it had some sort of asthma.  She had never heard anything breathe like that before, even the plenty of aliens that she had seen before.  The Doctor's curiosity was in her, creeping out at the worst moments, and it was showing itself here and now.  She usually loved it, relished in it, even.  But not now.  Not when she was too tired to cry and too scared to sleep.

She cried out for the Doctor in her mind, and what she couldn't feel was the TARDIS trying her best to soothe Rose, failing, but doing a bit of a poor job of it.  She tried to comfort the human, who was growing more inconsolable by the minute. 

Perhaps it was being in the dark, unable to see anything but the light silhouette of the monster that had taken her from the Doctor.  She hated it, resented it.  Rose Tyler did not hate many beings, never hated an alien for doing something it couldn't control because it was _instinct._ This being, however, Rose _hated,_ found that she wanted it dead.  And most of all, she wanted the Doctor to come get her, since if she tried to move, something would attack her.  

She whimpered a bit and eventually the exhaustion of her body and her mind crushed her, making her fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

****

The Doctor was prepared to fight anything that was in the forest for Rose.  He only had his sonic, of course, since he didn't carry any weapons, but he was ready to use the most destructive settings that had ever been programmed into the device.  His hands flexed as he readied himself.  

Gren was waiting for him back at the town, his brow drawn together in worry.  He made to open his mouth and speak, but the Doctor raised a hand, cutting him off. 

"I'm going in after her," he said sternly, and it was not up for discussion. 

Gren closed his mouth and nodded, sighing heavily even still. "I should have known that you would go back in.  I wish I could convince you otherwise."

"You can't," The Doctor said bluntly.  "I shouldn't have even stayed outside of that forest for a second once I knew what was wrong."

"You couldn't have known, really," Gren said gently, "You did what you needed to. And you visited Phillip, yeah?  That was.... Good, right?"

The Doctor nodded regretfully.  "Yes.  But I still shouldn't have let her alone.  I should _never_ leave her alone."

Gren shifted his weight. "So you're going?"

"I have to."

There was, of course, no room for argument.  There never really was, when the Doctor wanted to do something that no one else wanted him to do.  He brushed past Gren and towards the forest.  He had a flashlight in his pocket now, and hew as going to find that bloody monster and find out _why,_ exactly, it had taken his best friend.  


	11. Chapter 11

She felt as though she’d been there for days, like she couldn’t be bothered to try and escape because it was all going to be the same no matter where she went anyway. She shifted around as she swam up from sleep. There was no concept of how long she had been that way, because the light never changed. There was none, after all. She let out a low groan of pain when the slightest weight touched her ankle and she felt her face contort into a grimace.

 

This really wasn’t fair. She’d heard of being an ‘inside man’, maybe she had even done it a few times, but never like this. She wondered if it was possible to go mad lying in the dark all by herself with nothing but the rattling breathing of her captor next to her.

 

She sat up like a shot and turned her head. The grimy white streak was there, bony elbows over bony knees, like it was struggling for breath. Now, Rose had a fairly good understanding of the Doctor’s boney-ness, and it had never reached this sort of magnitude. The Doctor was lanky, tall, dashing. This being, from what she could see, was too thin, too long. It wasn’t even tall, she couldn’t see it that way. It was like a dry noodle, almost, all elbows and knees. She cringed. This was terrible. It could be worse, of course, she knew that, but it couldn’t be much worse.

As much as she wanted to escape, she had a feeling that this monster would come at her even more violently than it had before. That was, if it was the same monster that had spoken into her mind. She was not convinced that it was the same. It had spoken. “We are the rake.” We. Why we? A very Doctor-sounding voice niggled in the back of her mind, making her sift through evidence and wonder what, exactly was going on. Was it another monster? How many could there possibly be? She was fairly certain that it was impossible that there was more than three. The forest was not massive, exactly, and she was sure that she would’ve seen the other ones by 

now. Unless they were taking shifts.

Her head was starting to hurt with how hard she was thinking and she let out a long sigh. There was nothing for it, really. She was going to have to just let it take its course, which was 

something that she never really wanted to do.

She wanted to speak. The monster alerted next to her and took off again, making her furrow her brows in confusion. Now that she was properly awake, she wanted to run more than ever. Her ankle, although awake, was not ready for such a trip. She wondered when the moment arose if she would be able to take off. How long would she be here before the Doctor found her? Or was she going to have to find him? She blew out her cheeks. What a complicated relationship they had.

 

She was alone now, sitting in her little cage and hoping that she would be offered respite and the thing wouldn’t come back for a bit. She supposed she could call it the Rake now, since it had gone on and said that that was what it was. What they were, whatever they was. She wrinkled her nose at the voice inside her own head. It was starting to make a little less sense than it had before this whole thing happened.

After several minutes, she heard footsteps again and shrank back, fearing the worst. And then a flashlight touched her and she knew for certain that it wasn’t the Rake. She peered up into the light, right into the Doctor’s worried eyes, highlighted by the light spilling over

 

“Doctor,” she breathed, the relief evident in her voice. “You came.”

He furrowed his brows at her. “Of course I came, what did you think? Oh, ye of little faith.” He circled her enclose and found a little door that she had not spotted before. He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow, sending an ominous shadow over his eye. “Why didn’t you just leave?”

 

“It sits with me, usually, but it just took off. Besides, I can’t make it far, I-”

“Why not?”

 

“I was just about to tell you,” she said patiently, “I was saying that I’ve hurt my ankle and I can’t move. Even if I could, there’s nowhere to go.”

“Sure there is.”

 

“How long have I been here?” She asked weakly as he started to fiddle with the door.

 

The Doctor hesitated at this. “I don’t know.”

She felt anger bubble up inside her as he opened the door and hunched over to get inside the little prison with her. She scooted away from him when he reached for her. “Don’t touch me. 

What do you mean you don’t know?”

He looked so hurt that she almost dropped the topic entirely, but she couldn’t justify doing so. 

He shifted, squatting with his weight on the balls of his feet.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “Time changes differently in here than it does in the town. When I’d 

lost you I was sent out of the forest, and it had been three days.”

“It had barely been three hours,” she protested.

He ran his free hand through his hair. “I know it had, I was there too. I’m saying that time flows 

in a slower pattern here. You’ve been here for less time than I have been outside.”

 

“And how long were you out?”

“About a day, barely. I visited with Phillip and told him what was happening and now I’m here.”

 

She looked at him, searching for the truth in his eyes. Having found it, she nodded slightly. 

“Okay,” she said.

 

He swayed forward, then stayed back, as though he wasn’t sure what she would want, or what he should do. “Can I… Could I hug you now, maybe? I missed you.”

 

She realized how starved she was for human contact (or Time Lord contact, as it were) and she nodded, letting out a sigh of relief as he shuffled forward to pull her into his arms. He was wary of her ankle and she settled her head against his shoulder, her nose pressed into the crook of his neck.

“I wish I had found you the moment you were lost.”

 

“You’re gonna have to lose me again,” she told him, only half teasing. She was so focused on her words that she didn’t feel the shiver that ran through him when her breath touched his neck. “I can’t walk.”

He scoffed and pulled away from her, reaching up to cup her cheek. “You don’t have to walk. Come on.”

 

She shook her head. "No, Doctor, I won't be able to make it."

"Yes you will," he said through gritted teeth.  "I am not leaving you, Rose.  I can't. Don't you understand that?"

She looked at him curiously, wondering where that particular spout of rage had come from. He seemed angry, but not with her. She almost reached up to cup his cheek but drew her hand back to herself, her fingers curling in as they ached to touch him.  

He searched her, his eyes full of something that she had never seen before. He stroked his thumb over the apple of her cheek and smiled softly.  "I can carry you," he said softly, "Let me carry you through this, Rose, please?"

She frowned, "I'm not weak, I'm just-"

"Rose, I know you're not weak. I of all people know you're not weak.  But I need to keep you safe, Rose, I mean that, I _need_ to. I can't imagine doing otherwise.  Please, Rose.  Just come with me.  All you do is take care of me. Let me take care of you."

She finally nodded, realizing that he wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon. She reached her arms up to him and he removed his hand from her cheek, shifting his stance to go on and try to lift her from where she sat.

 

The Doctor, as it turned out, was much stronger than he looked, as he easily lifted Rose into a bridal carry while still holding the flashlight and slightly squatting. She let out a quiet squeak of surprise  as he steadied himself.  She could feel his quiet, contained breaths on her forehead and looked up at him, watching the intense and concentrated look on his face as she let him carry her outside the enclosure. She wrapped her arms fully around his neck and would have sobbed with relief if it wasn’t for the fact that they weren’t out of the woods yet.

 

She found that she was going to have to mean that quite literally, actually.

She pressed her face into the fabric of his oxford, nose brushing his Adam's apple, fearing anything that was around them, and he adjusted his grip on her.  The sound of his hearts beating against her ear was incredibly reassuring and she was at a loss to even feel lost.  She nuzzled closer to him, reveling in the safeness of it all, of his touch.  To her surprise, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crows of her hair. “It’s alright, Rose,” he told her softly, “I know exactly where I'm headed.”

 

She believed him, and would believe him forever if he held her like this and kissed her so tenderly.  She always believed him, even when he was wrong, because even when he was wrong he desperately wanted to be right, and she lo- cared about him for it.  After quite a while of walking though she felt herself growing tired.  She let herself slipping into it.  Her eyes slipped shut and she found that for the first time since this whole thing had started, really, she felt completely safe.

They moved slowly, because even the Doctor was afraid of the monster.

 

“It’s the Rake,” she whispered. “It told me, in my head.  It attacked my mind.”

“I know it was in your head,” he replied, “The TARDIS protected you.”

 

“I’m gonna have to thank her.” She was quiet for a moment. “You think we can get some ice for my ankle, then? It really bloody hurts.”

He chuckled softly. “Of course, Rose. Don’t you worry. Once we get you back to our room you’ll be fixed up in no time.”

 

"I wanna go back to the TARDIS," she said, "I don't want to go back to that bloody room."

"Okay."

She clenched her fingers. "Will you still stay with me?  I don't wanna be alone."

"Rose, I won't leave you alone. I promise."

 

She didn’t mean to fall asleep while he was holding her, but it really was quite comforting to be in arms she trusted, and a person cannot get proper sleep when they don’t quite feel safe. In the end, it was rather good that she fell asleep, as the Doctor was really no longer tempted to list confessions that had piled up in his brain as he had sought her in the woods. He sighed heavily and pressed another kiss to her head. These things were for the best.

However, the monster, the Rake, was not as stupid as the Doctor would believe.  He growled as he watched the Doctor take his prize away.  First he defended her mind, and now her body?  There would be nothing left!  Nothing!  What was he to do?  He could not attack the Doctor directly, he understood that.

 

So he crept along after the two, the floor of the forest making him completely silent. His long feet lay to the ground over and over, heel to toe, heel to toe. He was quiet as possible, too quiet for the Time Lord ears to pick up.  

He watched the Doctor, carefully, a wary eye on the man with his _prize,_ the thing he had wanted most, to experiment on, to make like him.  Now, though, it was gone.  She would have been perfect.  He clenched his fists at his sides, sharp nails digging into palms.  It was not going to be long, now.  He was going to have his prize. He deserved it.  It was _his._

She would not escape so easily.


	12. Chapter 12

He took her home then, to the TARDIS, where she had wanted to be since they'd shown up in this godforsaken place. He should have listened to her, he lamented as he carried her out of the forest. People tried to approach him, for, aside from Phillip, there wasn't really anyone that had 'survived' capture when it came to the Rake.

 

Gren ran up and blocked the door to the TARDIS. The Doctor quirked an eyebrow up at him, daring him to say something, daring him to say that he could not enter his own home. He watched Gren swallow hard and look at the girl, curled up in his arm, either unconscious or asleep.

 

"Get out of my way," the Doctor said through gritted teeth, his eyes snapping. There was no one that would not cower in the face of the Oncoming Storm. Well, except for Rose, perhaps. After all, she had seen it, and she had stayed. But Gren did not stand a chance, and the Doctor was going to make sure of it.

 

"No," Gren replied unsteadily, "You said you would both stay in a room. Here."

 

"For God's sake, we're not going to leave the planet!" The Doctor shouted. Rose turned her face into his collar, her eyes fluttering open. He hadn't meant to wake her. Her head probably ached from something being inside it, he realized, and he cringed with the realization. He lowered his voice and began again. "I don't know if you've noticed, Gren, but something quite horrible has just happened to Rose. I should look her over in the med bay in my ship. Do you understand me?"

 

"We have plenty of serviceable hospitals here," Gren protested, "They are updated and Rose would be quite safe-"

 

The Doctor snapped. "Rose will be safest in her own home. And you are not going to stop me. Now. Move."

 

He pushed Gren out of the way. The other man was standing there quite half heartedly of course, and it was not hard for the Doctor to move him. He slipped into the ship, which hummed in worry. Rose pointed at her ankle, removing her hand from him to do so.

 

"Can you fix that?" She asked.

 

"Of course."

 

"Okay. Doctor?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"I'm not useless."

 

"I know," he said, "Why would you think that you're useless, Rose?"

 

"I couldn't escape, or get out by myself."

 

"Aside from Cassandra, Rose, you've never dealt with mental warfare. It was natural for you to be afraid after something like that happened to you, and it's probably best that you were. The TARDIS could only protect your mind for so long."

 

She blew out a sigh. "I don't need to be saved."

 

"You've saved me so many times, Rose."

 

She laughed a little as he carried her to the med bay. Once he'd gotten her into the room he set her on the bed. She shifted so that she was facing him, her feet dangling off the edge as she waited for him to run whatever tests he was planning to run.

 

He offered her a smile and she tugged him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gave into her touch, holding her tenderly, afraid if he squeezed too hard she would get scared again.

  
"Can it get me in here?" She asked on a whisper. "Will it kill me?"

 

"The TARDIS can protect you better in here than it could when you were in the woods." He said, pulling back to look at her. Her eyes were completely focused, there was no sign of an internal concussion. He pushed her hair back from her face. "I have to set up a tube on you to keep track of a couple things in your system, and then I'm going to do a test on your brain. Alright?"

 

She nodded. "That's alright."

 

He pushed off the table and resisted the urge to touch her more, to pull her back into an embrace that she would have trouble getting out of. He thought he'd lost her. This was worse than most. She had been _just_ out of his grip, taken by something he could nto even pretend to understand. That was not something they were used to.

 

Though Rose was closed off, there was no sign that there was damage to her brain. She continued to kick her feet, her hands now shoved under her thighs as though she was trying not to reach out and touch him as well.

 

He wished she would, in a way.  Wished she'd be the one to breach the gap.  But she wouldn't because he had already set up the rules, made her keep her distance.  She knew the guidelines of what was alright, and he was going to have to keep it that way because that was the way it had always been.  That made it safe.  That made it okay to hug and it made it okay for him to kiss her forehead and her to kiss his cheek.  The moment things passed that it would be complicated and he did not want anything with her to be complicated.  Because she was too important to him. 

She watched him with focused eyes as he gathered up what he needed from the tables.  He retrieved the tube, which was more of the worlds thinnest IV, and returned to her side, rolling across the holder it was on. She wouldn't need it for long, he explained, just a few minutes while he looked over her vitals and looked in her mind.  

"Look in my mind?" Rose asked, furrowing her brows.  "I don't know-" She bit her lip, cutting herself off. 

"Do you trust me?" He asked softly, his hearts dropping a little in his chest. 

She nodded slightly.  "Yes," she said timidly. 

"Please?" he asked, "Let me.  I wouldn't look at anything you didn't want me to, or force myself into your mind. You'd have to allow me."

Rose watched his eyes, and after several moments, she nodded slightly.  He stepped closer to her and raised his hands up.  She sighed and leaned forward, her eyes squeezing shut.  He slid his fingers up into her hair, a gesture similar to the one he had used with Madame de Pompadour.  Somehow, this was not the same.  His fingers tingled where they connected with Rose's skin, and he wanted to be closer to her. 

He knew that Rose thought he had wanted to run away with Reinette, but he _hadn't,_ he promised he hadn't.  He was disappointed she died while waiting for him, but he was not disappointed that he had gone home to Rose. He cared about Rose beyond her beauty and her experiences.  He wished that she would understand that without him having to say it to her.  He couldn't say it, no matter how much he wanted to. 

He inhaled sharply and closed his own eyes, stepping closer so his hips were between her thighs.  He focused on sending her telepathic waves, begging, pleading for entrance. 

Rose?

_Doctor?  Is that you?_

Yes.

_Um.  Okay.  You can come in now?_

He laughed a little and slipped into her open mind, letting himself in, but only just.  She gasped and almost pulled away from him, but then leaned into his touch.

Are you alright?

_That feels weird._

I know.  You'll get used to it.

He pushed farther into her mind, searching only for damage.  He was not going to violate her trust by plunging into her darkest memories. 

Picture a door closing if you don't want me to see anything.

When he had investigated people telepathically in the past, they had simply slammed doors harshly, rattling his own mind in the process.  Rose's doors, or only two of them, shut slowly, quietly, with a gentle 'snick' as they closed.  He almost gasped with exactly how soft it really was. 

 

_I trust you.  It's okay._

He searched her for only a few moments longer, and found that he wanted to bury his conscious deeper into hers, to learn her inside and out in a way that he knew that she would let him, if he wanted to.  He could bond them, here.  Make her _belong_ to him.  Every telepathic species would know that she was his, and that he was hers, they would be marked.  And he wanted it. 

It had been legitimate centuries since he had even thought of a relationship that way.  He was having trouble staying away from her.  She saved him so many times, and so many ways, that he was close to admitting exactly what it was that he felt for her.  He couldn't do it in his mind, could never tell himself what it was.  He could never tell her what it was, because she would want it too.

As of now, it almost wasn't enough anymore, the relationship they had. He was tempted, in the mornings, when she was ruffled by sleep and her eyes squinted against the light, to kiss her good morning, to hold her in his lap as they ate their breakfast. 

Instead he sat across the table, watching her and occasionally holding her hand too.  Those were the best parts of the day, when it came to their quieter moments. Being with her when she was groggily chatting about what they were doing that day.  

He realized, however, that he had essentially just been sitting in her mind, and she had been letting him.  She couldn't read his thoughts, he was too advanced in his blocks for that, but he still hastily checked the rest of her mind before slipping back out of her mind.  He cleared his throat and smiled at her, before scurrying back over to the computer to check her vitals.  

"That's not as weird as I thought it would be.  Have you been in my mind before?"

The Doctor froze.  "Well... Technically yes.  Before I regenerated.  But it wasn't intentional.  We just... Reached for each other, when you were the Bad Wolf."  He looked over his shoulder at her. She did not seem upset in the least. She regarded him carefully.

"I like that," she said, "I'm glad it was you."

"It couldn't have been anyone else, Rose."

"Mm-hm.  I know I'm the reason you regenerated.  And I know that you don't regret it so... So I don't regret it, either," she bit her lip as she finished, as though she was trying not to say anything else. 

He opened and closed his mouth several times, not realizing that she remembered those things.  He blinked. "I could never regret saving your life, Rose."

"Even if it meant yours?"

"Even if it meant mine."  He affirmed seriously, watching her, his eyes flicking between hers.

After he finally managed to break his gaze away from her, he checked over her vitals. "Yes, everything's fine," he said, "I'm going to patch up your ankle now, alright?"

She nodded.  He took off the IV and helped her turn so she sat with her legs out in front of her on the hospital bed.  He rolled up her jeans and started to untie her shoe, going slowly, hoping to keep the pain at a minimum.  When he removed the sneaker she hissed in pain, but she bit her lip to muffle a cry when he peeled her sock off.

 "I'm sorry," he whispered, reaching for the bedside regenerator and running it over her ankle. He took her hand with his free one.  "Squeeze when it hurts."

She squeezed him until his hand was practically numb, but after about five minutes her hand was back the way it was.  She breathed out a sigh of relief when the pain finally subsided.  

"Did you eat?  Have you eaten?" The Doctor asked anxiously. 

She shook her head. "No. I'm actually a bit starving."

"Alright, we'll go get something.  Come on."

She hesitated when putting weight on her leg, but breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to do it, and he held her hand as they walked to the galley. Her hand in his was so comfortable and familiar that he could have wept with it. 

He forced her to sit as he cooked her soup and the TARDIS heated up a chicken for them, and as they were eating her eyes kept slipping shut but she forced herself to continue until she murmured something that made his hearts thunder in his chest.  Rassilon help him.

"I feel a bit manky.  I need to take a shower, and maybe we could go to bed?  You promised you would stay."


	13. Chapter 13

Rose had an idea that the Doctor was uncomfortable with staying with her. The thought made her feel a bit insecure, as he hadn't minded sharing a bed with her before, in their room. He had curled up around her, made himself quite at home, if she remembered correctly. 

And she _did_ remember correctly. She remembered him cuddling her and holding her, like she had always wanted him to hold her, and he had. She hadn't imagined that.  

But when he scampered off to change into his jim jams, she sagged a little.  She knew that he didn't want to be there, that he was merely doing it to appease her.  She breathed out a sigh.  Well, she usually wouldn't force him, but she felt so scared to be alone.  Even alone and changing in her room, she felt as though something was going to come up and grab her.

He was just too _friendly._ If he didn't feel anything for her, he shouldn't be so comfortable with her, so close. It made her nervous, afraid to do anything that might push him too far.  She felt cold panic rise up in her the longer she was alone, and that, coupled with her thoughts of the Doctor, made her start to pace nervously around the room.

The Doctor knocked before he came back in, and she adjusted her pajama top before she called out, "You can come in."  She hoped her voice didn't stake too much. She couldn't even tell, her blood was pounding so hard in her ears.

He entered, in the jim jams from Christmas, and shut the door, creating the illusion that they were even more alone then they were before.  He smiled crookedly at her and padded over to the bed before he saw the look on her face.  "What's wrong?" He asked, walking over to her and touching her shoulders.

She shook her head. "It's stupid, I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry, what's wrong?" He bent his knees, trying to look at her in the eyes.  She blushed a little but met his gaze.

"Sorry. I just didn't like being alone."  She admitted, wringing her hands together in front of her.  He wrapped his arms around her back and squeezed her firmly.  

"You're safe now," he whispered.  "You know that, don't you?"

She nodded against his chest. "I know," she murmured, slowly bringing her hands up to his back.  He hummed happily, the goofy hum that made her giggle, and released her, grinning down at her, relieved when she was smiling back up at him.  He walked away from her, now unsure of what to do with himself.  He sat down awkwardly on the side of the bed and she laughed a little before walking to the other side of the bed.  She kicked her slippers off, still not really putting any weight on her ankle, before getting under the covers and trying to tug them out from under him.  He looked at her sheepishly.

"I didn't want to presume you'd be comfortable with me-"

"Better than the thing that was holding me captive," she snapped, tired of his attitude, tired of his reluctance, tired, just _tired._ He could hug her and chat with her but he couldn't share a bed with her like he had the past couple of days? Absolutely ridiculous.  She chewed her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows at him.  He sighed and she had a feeling that she had gotten him to break down enough to climb into bed with her. She thought it was rather sad that she had to break him down to do that.  She closed her eyes and he climbed in next to her, jostling the mattress as he went.  She heard him sigh and shift about just a little bit.  He settled next to her, and she could tell he was facing her, waiting for her to do something.

As always, she was going to have to make the first move.  She scooted forward, sensing that he wasn't going to do anything, and cuddled up against his chest, letting out a relieved sigh when her cheek connected with this chest.  She felt more comfortable with the feeling of his skin against hers, as opposed to the cold of the night in the forest. The lights of the TARDIS were dimmed slightly, like the ship knew that she wouldn't want it all the way dark there.  The Doctor's hand fluttered behind Rose before settling on her back, and he shoved his other hand under her side so he could pull her closer. Their legs tangled of their own free will, and Rose felt herself relaxing.

They lay quietly for several moments, and she wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of anything that would mean enough. She flexed her ankle experimentally and sighed softly with relief when she found that it didn't hurt her to move it anymore.  

She was still feeling uncomfortable when it came to the thought of the Rake. She thought it was too easy, how they had gotten out of the woods. It had been so fast before, when it captured her, but the Doctor had been able to carry her out at a casual walk. It just didn't make any sense. She was afraid to bring it up to the Doctor, though.  She didn't think he'd really have anything useful to say about it, because for once, they were on the same page with their knowledge of the subject of hand. 

Somehow, that scared her more than anything else.  He was usually at least semi-knowledgeable on whatever it was that they saw, wherever it was that they worked on, tried to solve together.  It never occurred to her that he wouldn't know what was happening, and now that he didn't know?  It scared her more than any alien they had ever faced.

Although, this was quite horrifying as well.  She'd never been held in the woods by a strange animal before.  And she had never really been without the Doctor in a situation like that, either.  

She felt a groggy feeling slowly settling over her, once he got comfortable, and she wondered, for a moment, if the Doctor had given her something to relax her. In the moment, she thought that she might have been alright with such a development.  Slowly, lethargically, she leaned up and pressed a sloppy kiss to the underside of his jaw, against better judgement. "Thanks," she said softly, her lips still against his skin and her eyes still closed.  

He traced shaky patterns over her back. "For what, Rose?" He asked softly, running his fingers through her hair, working out the knots.  She forgot what she was talking about for several moments, and then she opened her mouth suddenly with a sharp intake of breath, trying to get back on task.  His hand stopped halfway through her hair, stopped in the middle of a knot.

"Saving me," she said, barely above a whisper, "You always save me."  She curled closer to him, her nose brushing his throat. She felt him shiver and grinned to herself a little.  So he wasn't completely made of stone.  She did it again, just to see what he'd do, and his breath hitched. 

"Go to sleep, Rose." his voice sounded a little shaky when he spoke, and she felt a swell of feminine pride.   _She_ had done this to him.  Not anyone else.  Not any other woman.   _Her._ Twenty year old Rose Tyler of the Powell Estate was getting a _reaction_ from the Doctor.

His hand curled into her shirt and he swallowed heavily.  After a few moments he let go of her shirt and started to pull away from her. She wasn't prepared for the panic that lifted up in her chest.  She clutched at his shoulder and the front of his shirt.  For a moment, she blushed, and then she moved away from him.  "I'm sorry," she said, "You can go if you want."

He watched her, on his side, and Rose lay on her back, staring, embarrassed, up at the ceiling.  He propped himself up on his elbow and watched her carefully. "I'm not leaving you, Rose.  Alright?"

She pursed her lips and cracked her knuckles, unsure of what to do with the nervous energy throwing itself through her body.  He leaned over her, just slightly, enough to make her nervous, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.  It was slow and lingering and made her eyes flutter shut.  She let out a breathless sigh and tilted her face towards him.  

That seemed to snap him back to reality, as he pulled back with a wet sound that usually did not accompany such a chaste kiss.  She stared at him, her eyes watching his carefully.  "Doctor-"

"Goodnight, Rose."  He laid down on his back and looked at Rose expectantly.  She rolled over and laid on his chest, feeling a bit more comfortable than when they were both on their sides. She had an idea that his arms wouldn't go numb quite so fast this way. 

She decided not to push her luck anymore, no matter how much she wanted to kiss the exposed skin where his chest was exposed, how she'd much rather lay on top of him than next to him.  But he didn't want that, he'd made that quite clear, so she cuddled into his warmth as he pulled up the duvet over both of them, pressing his nose to her hair as he did so.  Her eyes fluttered shut and she let her body relax into his.  

He obviously thought she was asleep because he whispered against her hair, "I'm so happy I found you."

****

When they woke up, they were clinging to each other tightly.  The Doctor could see his hands over her shoulder and saw that his knuckles were white from clutching her to him.  Rose was holding onto him just as tightly, both of her legs wrapped around one of his, pulling it to her.  She mumbled slightly against his neck.  

After a few moments, Rose was still finding herself quite in the dream state, and she could feel the heat of the Doctor's skin through their clothes.  She ran a hand down his waist to his hip.  She made a muffled sound and her mouth moved over his neck until she relaxed back into sleep.  "Doctor," she murmured against his skin. 

Oh, she was going to drive him absolutely mad.  This was _not_ fair. She was doing wicked things to him and she wasn't even awake.  He wanted to say something back to her, but she was sleeping, and it would be foolish to do so, when she was probably so near waking. 

She seemed to settle quite quickly, and pressed only a few more lazy kisses to his skin before pressing her forehead to his chest and whimpering softly.  She sounded afraid and he coasted his hand up and down her back. 

The dream she was having had very clearly changed, and he held her close to himself, murmuring softly to her, and trying to soothe her.  She started to fall asleep again but didn't seem to make it all the way there.  Her dream ceased, though, seemingly chased away by him.  

Her heart rate changed and he felt her waking up. It wasn't a full awareness, and he knew from his experience with humans that she would fall asleep within another few moments. She would only have a bit of clarity before passing out again, and that was alright. She needed the rest. 

She sighed and shifted, stretching against his body.  She curled up against him and her heart rate started to go back into the sleeping state, and right before she did so, she whispered softly, "I love you, Doctor," before falling back under, the comfortable grip of sleep pulling her.

The Doctor closed his eyes, fighting against the urge to wake her properly and demand what she meant by that.  He was never going to be able to let her go now.


	14. Chapter 14

Rose awoke with the Doctor's hand over her mouth.  She tried to let out a squeak of surprise, but he was sitting up, and turned to look at her, his eyes wide.  He placed his finger to his lips and shook his head.  

She sat up slowly, and reached and took his hand from her mouth, holding it in both of hers.  He was shaking.  She raised her eyebrows in confusion and he shook his head again.  He leaned over and drew her close to his side.  

Then she heard it.  

_Thump.  Thump.  Thump._

Rose burrowed closer to his shoulder then.  Something had gotten into the TARDIS, which was pretty much impossible.  But it had happened, and so he held onto her, slightly in front of her. There was no where to hide, of course, because it was just a bedroom, and there was no place to go that they would not be found immediately.  The TARDIS had panicked and locked Rose and the Doctor into her room.  

A rumbling voice sounded through the hallway, and Rose could just barely hear the voice and understand what it was saying.

"Find the girl."

"I cannot," another, smoother voice said, "Someone has built her mental walls up, I can not seek out her mind."

"Well, what about _him,_ then?  Can you find him?"

"His barriers are ever stronger than hers!" the voice cried frustratingly. 

The Rake. Rose knew it was the Rake, and now it spoke instead of screamed.  She grabbed the front of the Doctor's shirt, her fingers curling into the fabric and making her feel a bit more grounded.  She still couldn't say that she felt safe, though.  The way the Doctor's hearts were pounding under her fist, she had a feeling that he was feeling quite the same way.

They sat in silence, stiff, three hearts racing. The Doctor considered weakening his own barriers in order to protect Rose's, but it appeared that the TARDIS was doing a fine job of that all by herself.  He was alight with anger at the thought that Gren wanted them to be in the room they had stayed in originally. If they had been there, Rose would've been taken in a heartbeat, and he may not have even noticed. 

Just to reassure himself that she was there, he tugged her closer to his side, tips of his fingers digging into her ribs. If she minded him being a touch rough with her, she did not protest at all, in sound or action.

"Fine.  Shall we leave?" the Rake asked, surprisingly sophisticated in comparison to how it had sounded when Rose had been in the forest with it. 

The other voice replied, "I think so. It is not as though they can stay in their ship forever. They will feel bound to help the people here.  And when they exit, we can take the girl."

"Very good."

The two left then, and the TARDIS doubled her defenses on the door, not letting anybody in or out until she said so.  The Doctor sagged back, falling onto the pillows. Rose looked at him worriedly before he mustered up the strength to sit up again and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Her brows furrowed. She did not think that he had ever behaved like this with her before. She reached up and rested her hands on the back of his neck, smoothing his hair and trying to calm him down, as well as herself. She realized how close she had been to capture, and sit made her incredibly frightened. She had not been as scared of the Rake when she thought it was an imbecile, but now?  Now it was sophisticated, and that made her more frightened than any other opponent.

"They're right, you know," she whispered.

The Doctor pulled back from her and stared into her eyes, the dark of the room forcing his eyes to glint at her.  "What do you mean by that?" He asked in a rather demanding tone of voice.

She swallowed, afraid he would be angry with her. "It's obvious we're not just gonna sit in the TARDIS.  They were right.  We want to help people."

"No," he shook his head, "you are staying here."

"But I can't!"

"But you _can,_ and you _will,_ because I'm the driver and I say so," he said firmly, but his arms were still locked around her waist, so she couldn't quite put the intensity to the words that he had probably intended for them to have. 

"Just because you pilot the TARDIS doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.  It doesn't!" she said, when he opened his mouth to protest. "I think you should probably get off your high horse and realize that they might snatch you up as well.  And if that's the case, than we get snatched together."

His jaw twitched in anger. "You think it's that easy?" he asked, his voice low and intense, "You think if we get taken together, that's better?"

"You think that that you sending me home with an emergency programme after you get captured is better?" She snapped, removing her hands from him and crossing her arms over her chest.

Oh.   _Oh,_ she knew him too well, and how had she done that? How had she gotten to know him so well after all this time of him keeping his personal feelings all bottled up?  He opened and closed his mouth, trying to respond but he found that he was unable to refute anything that she had suggested, because he _would_ send her home, if it meant that she would be safe.  He would die happily knowing that Rose Tyler was at home where she belonged. 

But for _some reason,_ she didn't want that, and she would never forgive him if he did it. 

Still, even though she was glaring at him like that, her jaw set and her body closed off, he couldn't find it in himself to remove his arms from around her.  He searched her eyes carefully.  "You know that the second we step out they'll sense us and take us," the Doctor said, "If you step out those doors with me, you're pretty much committing suicide."

She shook her head nearly violently. "No. Not if I'm with you."

"Rose, don't be like this, please."

"Be like what?  Like an adult? Like I can make my own decisions?  Like I don't follow everything you say?"

He knew that she was saying important words, but her couldn't move away from her or even focus on the words her mouth was forming.  He could, however, focus (quite easily, in fact) on her mouth. 

He swallowed hard and stared at her, unable to say anything to the contrary or even focus on a coherent response at all. He opened his mouth and inhaled, as though he was about to go on a tangent, but then said nothing. 

Rose was growing frustrated with his behavior. The Doctor was an odd man, that was not new information. But he was _annoying_ her and she didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or not.  either way, it was bothering her to no end. So she snapped at him, "Well you'd better tell me, Doctor, because I can't figure it out anymore. What do you want?"

There was almost no hesitation in the Doctor's next action, but for Rose, it moved in slow motion.  He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Rose couldn't find it in herself, nor did she want to, to pull away from him. Instead, she slowly moved her hands away from herself and grabbed at his hair, tugging him closer to her. 

The angle was awkward, because of how they were sitting, and his kiss was filled with so much passion and desperation that Rose couldn't possibly be expected to keep up. She also didn't stop.

He whimpered in her mouth when he felt her kissing him back, and turned towards her until her shoulders touched the bed. He crawled over her, sheets tangling between them, and did not move his mouth from hers.  It appeared that he was almost incapable of doing so.

Rose changed her tactics, slowing the kiss, taking control from him, control that he was all too willing to give, really.  He reached up one of his hands and stroked her cheek gently, with so much tenderness that she could have wept from it, had she been thinking properly.

As the kiss softened, it managed to grow deeper, and Rose held onto him with her knees, keeping him from moving away from her. He finally pulled away from her mouth, leaving her gasping for air, and bit down hard on her neck before kissing down her neck.  She tilted her head back and ran her hands soothingly through his hair, letting him continue his perusal. 

"I can't lose you," he said in a strangled voice against her skin.

"You're not gonna lose me, Doctor," she promised, her eyes fluttering shut as he did something particularly wicked with his tongue against the space of her neck just above her collarbone.

"I'll lose you if you set foot out of the TARDIS."

"And I'll lose you if you go out without me," she said, and tugged his hair harshly, forcing him to look at her. "I don't want to be without you."

His eyes shone with unshed tears and he nodded slowly. "I _can't_ be without you." He whispered, as though it was quite difficult for him to admit such a thing. 

"Prove it," she replied softly, tilting her chin up.

Unable and now unwilling to resist, he kissed her again, swooping down to devour her mouth.  He pushed closer to her and tried to get rid of the blankets that separated them without moving away from her. 

She giggled a bit and pushed at his chest. "Throw these blankets down and come back to me."

She had never pegged the Doctor for a whimper-er, but he was doing quite a bit of that, as though he was trying not to groan at her, or he was biting words back.  He went down from her, pressing kisses on her chest and stomach over her clothes before ripping the blankets off from between them and pouncing on her again, making the bed shake around them. 

Rose grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him down to her again, snogging him soundly and firmly.  He slid his hands up her shirt and drew her closer to him, not wanting to let her go for even a moment. 

He broke away to stare at her, and finally spoke again, "Are you s-"

"Yes," she said, knowing what he was about to say, knowing that he was going to offer her a way out.  She didn't want a way out. She wanted him to take what belonged to him in the first place, because as much as a twenty first century woman was liberated, she found that she wanted, _wanted_ to belong to him, as long as he could belong to her in return.

"Yes?"

"Yes." 

"Yes!" he said, and she laughed, and he laughed too, because they could laugh together at any point in time, because he was her best friend. Why should this be any different? The answer was that it wasn't any different.  

He cradled her to himself and laid gentle kisses over her forehead and cheeks, showing an adoration that proved to her that although this was fueled by adrenaline, it was more than that, more than something mindless.  He never did anything without intent, and somewhere along the way, something must have broken his resolve, to put her firmly in his arms and for her to not let him go.  He pressed a kiss to her mouth that was decidedly chaste.  She smoothed her thumbs over his cheeks and kissed him harder, and he was quite willing to oblige her.

She had allowed herself to admit, in her own mind, long ago, that she was in love with him. That if she spent the rest of her life holding his hand and doing nothing else, she would be fine with it.  

It was only when he ripped her shirt open that her mind processes stopped and she thought of nothing but the Doctor for quite some time after that.


	15. Chapter 15

The next time she woke, it was with the Doctor wrapped so tightly around her that she was wondering how she was finding it in herself to breathe.  His arms were wrapped around her waist, his head pillowed on her chest.  One of her hands rested on his bicep, the other on his hair.  His breath played across her collarbone and she closed her eyes, feeling like she could sleep for another three hours or so.  She probably would have done, if she hadn't felt the need to try and finish this adventure so they could get _out of here._

She curled her fingers into the brown tresses under them, holding onto him to keep him with her. Of course, he wasn't about to move anywhere.  He was fast asleep, completely spent, breath ghosting across her skin in a way that was quite comforting. 

She couldn't fall back asleep, not now.  She knew that she was going to have to wake him, because they had plenty of things to do, a mystery to solve, even if it meant her capture.  Even though she was afraid of it all, she knew that it was something she needed to do.  It would take a lot of convincing, though.  

After a few moments of utter bliss, she sighed softly and stroked her hand through his hair.  He burrowed closer to her in his sleep, his leg wrapped around both of hers.  He nuzzled his nose against her collarbone and she kissed the top of his head. 

Rose was not naive enough to think that he would regret what had happened between them.  His actions, every single one of them, were always deliberate.  Every motion, every touch, every word.  He never said or did anything he didn't mean.  And by the way he was holding her in his sleep, tight, like if he let her go, he would fall apart, she could guess that he wasn't regretting anything.  She still felt the need to ask him.

He stirred slightly and she ran her hand from her hair down to his back.  He moved again and yawned, a powerful whoosh of air going over her chest and although his breath was warm, it sent goosebumps over her skin.  After a few moments, he pulled up to look down at her, his leg still thrown over hers. 

"Good morning," He rumbled in a sleep filled voice. 

"Good morning," she whispered back, afraid to speak up in case the moment would shatter around them.  But the word burst forth before she was ready or willing, "Regrets?"

In response, he smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her.  She sighed against his mouth, cupping his cheek in her hand and giving her her answer right there.  His jaw worked against hers for several minutes before pulling away from her mouth and leaving little butterfly kisses along her jawline. 

"I think we need to leave the TARDIS," she said softly.  He stiffened against her. 

"No.  Rose, I've decided, we're leaving."

" _You've_ decided?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh," he said 

She pushed her head back into the pillows, then lifted it and thumped it back again.  On the third go round of that, the Doctor's hand shot under her head and stopped her motions. 

"What- stop that," he scolded, looking down at her. 

Rose sighed and dropped her hands.  "We can't just leave them, Doctor, you know we can't. You wouldn't want to leave them behind to deal with whatever this is.  More people could die."

His eyes darkened nearly sharply and he stared down at her.  "I can _not_ lose you, do you understand me?"

"Yes," she bit out, "And I can't lose you."

"I just found you," he whispered, "I am not letting you die now."

"Fine," she said.  "Then let's leave the TARDIS, and you don't let me die, and I won't let you die.  Okay?"

They stared at each other in a deadlock, which was quite the feat considering their positions, and she sighed softly as he leaned down but them pulled himself back up. 

"Go on, you can kiss me if you want."

He kissed her, unable to resist an offer like that, and he pulled away with a happy hum before laying on top of her, his head buried in her neck. 

"You can't just leave these people," she said, hoping he would be a little more reasonable.

"I can."

"You won't," She scolded, "That's not who you are, Doctor, and you know that."  She sifted a hand through his hair.  "Please."

He lifted his head and looked at her again. "If you stay here."

" _No,_ Doctor. You can't protect me from every unfortunate thing that happens."

He smiled weakly.  "But I can try."

"Yes you can," she replied agreeably, "But not today!  Today, we conquer!  Understood?"

He looked like something was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say it.  He sat back on his heels and pulled her up to a sitting position.  She watched him, waiting for him to say the words that were trying to come out of him.  But he didn't.  He just held her hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb, watching it intently, like the secrets of the universe were written on it.

She reached up and cupped his face with her free hand, watching him rather intently.  "Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose?" he murmured.

"Come on.  Let's get up."

"In a minute."

She tipped his chin up, but it didn't take much force for him to look at her.  She offered him a watery smile.  "You are very good to me," she said steadily, "But we need to be good to these people too, because they deserve to live."  

He looked at her with a shocked expression. "I don't expect to _be good_ to every-"

She burst out laughing then, reaching to wrap her arms around his neck. "I certainly hope that you won't be doing that to everyone.  If you do I'll have to skin you."

He squeezed her around the waist. "And you'd be a little bit justified in that."

"Alright then," she pulled back, pressed a very quick kiss to his mouth, and slid off the bed.  "Come on then, we've got a planet to save."

For the first time in his life, the Doctor was willing to admit that he was better when he was Rose Tyler.  He'd thought it, certainly, but he'd never consciously told himself that _yes_ Rose Tyler was good for him. And she was good to him, just as she had said he was good to her. But he hadn't deserved it, of course he didn't deserve it.  But she was so perfect.  And he felt for her something that still, he wasn't able to put a name to.  

He watched her as she fished around in her dresser. "You'd better go get dressed," she tossed over her shoulder, "Can't go out there starkers."

He blushed hotly and glanced away from her, listening to her pleasant giggle.  She shut her dresser drawer and gave him a shooing hand before disappearing into her bathroom. 

She thought that if she had ever kissed the Doctor, or done anything with the Doctor to make them a couple, she would feel different.  But she didn't. She felt rather the same actually.  She got dressed and stared at herself in the mirror, trying to tell herself that she was different, because she was with the Doctor, but she wasn't.  She was still Rose Tyler.  She was still in love with the Doctor.  Nothing she had said or done changed that.  He was hers, and she realized, somewhere along the way, that he always had been.  

 When she left her en suite, the Doctor was tying his tie at the mirror that sat on her desk.  He turned to look at her, and gave her a tight, nervous smile.  He walked to her slowly and cupped her cheek, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. 

"Are you ready?" She asked him, closing her eyes as his breath brushed her. 

"Yes," he said. "No.  I don't know."  He sighed, "They said they'd take you the second you stepped out of the TARDIS.  I'll hold onto you, they'll have to take me too."

"If that's how it has to be," she said, tilting her chin up to look at him.  "We do this together, yeah?"

He smiled, the crow's feet at the edges of his eyes crinkling up with happiness.  She'd heard a woman at her mother's New Year's party complain about how old the Doctor's face looked, but he looked young in sleep, and every line on his face was put there by laughter.  She loved his face.  She loved him.  

He reached down and took her hand, holding it tightly, as though afraid she'd slip right out of his grip, which, of course, he was.  They walked to the front of the TARDIS in complete and utter silence, not daring to make a sound in case they had intruders on their ship. The TARDIS had made sure that there wouldn't be any of course, but it didn't stop them from feeling a little bit afraid. 

He reached for the door, looking at her, waiting for her approval. 

"Okay," She whispered, squeezing his hand. 

"Do not let go of me," he said sharply, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes.  I wasn't gonna," she promised, not breaking eye contact as she gave her reply.  "Not gonna leave you."

He nodded once, just once, but that was enough, and he opened the door, inhaling sharply.  The second they stepped out, the both of them blacked out, but just for a moment. 

If the Doctor was honest with himself, he had hoped that this wouldn't happen, that they'd just be allowed to save the day, as they always were, but it didn't seem that was going to be an option this time.  He found that he wasn't even afraid.  He was just frustrated and feeling a bit bitter. 

Rose, on the other hand, saw past all those emotions and saw that, in fact, she was focusing on the fact that they weren't unconscious. She could still feel the Doctor's hand in hers, and she blinked.  She just couldn't see, or feel ground beneath her feet. Just to make sure that she was going to stay alive, she didn't move a muscle.  It was a few moments before she felt that they were on solid ground again. 

"Doctor?" She whispered.

"I bloody knew it," he whispered back. 

"Not my point, Doctor."

"Ah.  We're here."

"Yes."

"Where's 'here'? Can you see?"

"Nope."

He turned and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're still here."

She didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly.  She rubbed her hand over his upper back, trying to calm him, as he was shaking slightly. 

"I told you I wasn't going to leave you, okay?  now, come on, let's see where we are."

As if in answer to her statement, a dim light flickered on above them. Rose pulled away from him and peered up at the dingy light that was hanging from the ceiling. She furrowed her brows at it and looked around at their surroundings. 

She felt her heart sink when she realized where they were. In a concrete room, with only a single vent to keep them company.  She swallowed hard, watching the Doctor study the room as well. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if he was going to come to the same conclusion that she did.  She chewed her thumbnail nervously, wanting to say the words but not wanting them to actually leave her lips. 

However, after a few moments of the Doctor's confusion, she had to be honest with herself and realize that she had to say something.  "Doctor?"

"Where are we?"

She winced. "Um.  I think I know where we are."

"And.... Where is that?" 

She knew that he hadn't really been listening when they had talked to Phillip in the hospital. "You know where Phillip said that he had been taken?  The place... With the aliens?"

The Doctor's face went sheet white.  "Do you think-"

"I think we're the next victims."


	16. Chapter 16

The Doctor was very quiet after she spoke, not wanting to say anything about it.  Instead of words, he reached out and laced their fingers together, a silent reassurance that she was not alone.  She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, because she could and because she had a feeling that it would make him feel as good as it made her feel. 

She stayed close to his side, not moving, not having the nerve to move, because she knew what came next.  A light flickered to life above them, an old, yellowing light bulb with a string hanging from it.  She chewed her lip and looked over at the Doctor.  His face had turned stoic, and the shadows of the room cast across his face in such a way that she couldn't tell quite what he was really thinking.

"Doctor?" she whispered, still looking at him.

"I'm looking for a door," he told her, his voice quiet.

Rose let her lips in a thin line and she tugged his hand, trying to get him to look at her.  Finally, he did, the shadows casting over half of his face and effectively hiding part of his expression from her.  She found her brows furrowing as she said, "You know what Phillip said.  They were trapped, him and the girl he was with."

"She tried to kill herself."

"Is that what you're worried about?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice.  

He turned away from her but the tight grip he had on her hand didn't break.  She realized that she was staring at him but couldn't find a word to say.  He was really worried that she would be affected in the same way the woman with Phillip was.  She couldn't find anything that would appropriately assure him otherwise.  

She frowned at him. "I'm not gonna kill myself," she said simply.  "No matter what happens, I'm not gonna do that."

His eyes looked pleading when he turned to her again.  "Rose, you don't know how your mind will react to this."

_Thump, thump._

It began, the steady thumping that Phillip had talked about. She resisted the urge to close her eyes. The Doctor tried to turn away from her but she grabbed his chin with her free hand, making him stay looking at her.  

"I'm not gonna do that," she said fiercely.

"You don't know-"

"I do know," she cut him off, sick of him thinking that she couldn't handle things, or that he knew what she was going to do next.  "I know that I would never leave you, not like that, not by choice. I could never abandon you. Don't you understand that?"

She felt more than heard him swallow.  "It doesn't always have to be about me, Rose."

"Yes it does," she said firmly, "Because _you_ will never make it about you."

His eyes were downcast and she was overcome with the urge to kiss him, but didn't think here and now would be the most appropriate time to do so.  She pulled her hand away from his chin and stroked it down his shoulder before letting it fall to her side.  He sat down heavily, his hand still in hers.  She sat too, cross legged, her other hand covering the ones that were so tightly intertwined and sitting peacefully on his knee. 

_Thump thump._

"It's never going to end, is it?" he asked softly.

"Why are you acting so defeated?" She demanded. "Why?"

"Because I've put you in danger again," he said.

_Thump thump._

"I've put you in danger plenty of times as well," she reminded him. 

"You make me delusional," he whispered.  "You make me think I can do anything, even protect you when I know I can't."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, hoping that he would find the weight reassuring.  "That's not delusion, Doctor, I promise."

_Thump thump._

They were quiet for awhile, mostly because there was nothing to say.  She couldn't reassure him anymore, and he couldn't think of anything to ask her that the answer of which would be reassuring.  He sighed shakily, neither of them moving, both very still. 

_Thump thump._

She pressed a kiss to his shoulder through the scratchy material of his jacket.  It was hard to think that this was allowed now, that she was permitted to offer comfort in the way that a woman who loves someone offers to that someone.  She closed her eyes against the yellowed, tired light and tried to pretend that the thumping wasn't bothering her.

"I had a friend once, this reminds me of him," he said it so softly that she almost didn't hear it.

_Thump thump._

"What?" She replied, a little louder, hoping he'd raise his tone.

"He called himself the Master."

"And how does this remind you of him?"

"He said he heard thumping, the beating of drums, all the time.  There were four, instead of two. We were friends."

_Thump thump._

"I didn't know you had friends."

"Cheeky.  He went down a different path than I did. Honestly, he was quite a dangerous man, and he could be cruel.  He always wanted to fight."

"And he fought with you?"

"Oh, certainly."

She waited for him to say more, knowing that he wanted to, and she would wait until he was ready.

_Thump thump._

"And I never heard them. I used to be jealous, knowing that he was experiencing something so intense and that he got attention for it.  But I think it drove him mad, in the end."

"Where is he?"

"Dead.  Gone, with the rest of the Time Lords."

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

_Thump, thump._

"Don't be," he replied, "I don't need them.  I've got you now."

The thumping continued, and it continued, and continued.  The Doctor broke out into a sweat, anxiety seeping through. Rose pressed her cheek into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut.  It was in her head, she knew that much.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"No," she replied, "S'just annoying."

"I know it is," he said, "I'm annoyed too.  I don't.... I don't envy him, anymore."

"I don't either," she replied.  "It's in my head."

He stroked his thumb over hers in a reassuring fashion.  "Your mental blocks are up high enough that it's keeping you from getting hurt.  I would never have let you out of the TARDIS if I hadn't known you would be safe, at least a little."

"See?  Even though you say you're not, you're still protecting me," she murmured, "You take care of me, Doctor."

"I don't."  He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckled before lowering their hands back to his knee.  "I wish I could."

"How much time has gone?" She asked softly, wondering why her eyelids were growing heavy.  

"About thirteen hours," he said.

_Thump thump._

It had been so long, and the Doctor had been sweating so much, that his hand was slick and warm inside hers, where it was normally dry and cool. This on its own was disconcerting and she wasn't sure what to do about it.  She couldn't reassure him, he was too far down his own rabbit hole to think about anything about being safe.  

There was part of her that wanted to cradle him to herself and hold him for as long as humanly possible, but she was finding herself grow weak with exhaustion, not quite sure why she was so tired.  She settled against him even more firmly, and he laid his cheek on top of her head. 

_Thump, thump._

Rose tried to focus on the beats of his hearts instead of the beating of the thumping through the walls and through her ind.  The Doctor seemed to be aware that it was bothering her, and he continued to stroke his thumb against hers, trying to either calm her or distract her.  Which she wasn't sure, but she found that she was quite alright with either.  

She shifted uncomfortably, her bum going numb with how still they had been sitting for so long. She knew there was no where else to sit, so there was no reason to complain about it, and she didn't like complaining to the Doctor when he almost never complained.  However, there was a part of her that was rather annoyed with her position and the way her head was starting to feel.

"I'm not feeling well."  She blurted out without really meaning to.

"Your mind is tired from having the thumping in it.  Would you like to go to sleep?"

"No."

"You might want to."

"What difference does it make?" 

He pulled his coat off, his Janis Joplin coat, having to wrestle himself away from her to do so, but situating himself so that eventually his suit jacket was a pillow by their heads and the coat covering them like a blanket.  He forced her to lay down, to get her comfortable. 

"Tell me something nice," he told her, his hands stroking her back. "When we get out of here, what's the first thing you wanna do?"

"I want to see Phillip," she replied, "I want to tell him we fixed this."

"Of course."

"Will we fix it?"

"Of course."

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"I think I'm scared."

_Thump, thump._

He kissed her forehead, and the words he murmured went straight into her hair.  She almost didn't hear them.  "Me too."

As it turned out, they didn't fall asleep. They blacked out.

When they woke up, there was food in front of them, just like Phillip had said. By their feet lay two trays of bland food clearly left there by something or someone that didn't know what people ate.  Rose couldn't quite bring herself to move away from the Doctor for a few moments, and he was content to hold her, pretending he wasn't shaken by the whole ordeal as well.  In reality, her weight against his chest and arm made him feel much more secure about the whole thing.

She finally murmured, "Guess we should eat.  They don't want us dead."

"No, I suspect not," he replied, and squeezed her shoulder.  "Come on, then. We can't waste time now, can we?"

"What else have we got to do?"

"Eh, you've made your point.  Perhaps we try to escape?" He suggested, starting to sit up and taking her with him, since his arm was around her back.  Rose reached out and picked up the piece of bread that was on one of the plates. 

"Rock solid," she said.  "can't eat it."

"There's broth," he suggested, stirring up the stuff with a metal spoon.  He stuck his finger in it. "Still warm."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "You're disgusting."

"You like it," he said smugly, and went about sipping the broth that they had been given. 

She smiled, unable to help it.  Then she looked at her own bowl of breath.  "Hey, why do you think they gave us metal utensils?"

"I dunno," the Doctor said, cocking his eyebrow.  "That's quite the question."

"Do you have an answer?" She asked, nudging his shoulder with hers.

The Doctor laughed lightly.  "No, I don't," he admitted. "I don't know why they'd give us metal utensils. Isn't that how the woman with Phillip killed herself?"

"Yep," Rose said, then eyes the Doctor suspiciously. "Don't you dare.  You know I won't."

He nodded but didn't say anything. he looked away from her and she tried not to be offended. At this point she was considering staying alive simply to prove him wrong. She wasn't so easily broken.  She had a feeling that the woman Phillip had been with had probably undergone some sort of emotional trauma before they had been captured. That was all.  

They sipped at their broth quietly, the bread left untouched on the plate.  Rose's stomach grumbled and she tried not to be upset by it.

"I hope they give us a little something more tomorrow," she said, smiling weakly.

He leaned over and kissed her temple. "Maybe," he said softly.

She had a feeling that he touched her because it was just as reassuring to him as it was to her and that made her feel much safer.  She pulled her bowl into her lap and cuddled into his side. 

If they were going to do this, damn it, it was going to be together.


	17. Chapter 17

Rose was glad she had the Doctor with her, because otherwise she would have absolutely no concept of time. She shifted little, sinking into a depression that was caused by not even being able to see the light.  She hadn't seen the sun in a very long time, about four days by the Doctor's count. She made him whisper to her in the night about the suns of different planets. 

"I'm cold," she whispered. 

"It's alright," he said, stroking her arm soothingly, "It might just be because you're thinking about sunlight."

"Tell me more." 

"It'll just make you yearn for it, love."

Her hand clenched in his jacket and she whimpered.  He stroked his hand through her hair soothingly. This what what he had been afraid would happen. He had no doubt that Rose was quite strong, and beautiful, and cunning, but she had never been locked in a cell with no windows. Even on the TARDIS, when they stayed there for multiple days, there was artificial, yet realistic, sun in the gardens.  She would sit in there if she wanted to see the sun.  But there was no sun now, no chance of looking at it, and her muscles cramped from disuse. 

She cuddled against him almost all the time, because he was warm.  He could regulate his body temperature, being Time Lord and all, and made sure to heat up so that she would feel more safe, perhaps she could sleep. She was a good faker, but the Doctor could still tell that she wasn't doing any sleeping.

"I want to get out, but I don't know what to look for," she whispered. 

The Doctor nodded, sensing that night was falling. "I know.  I don't either."

She sat up suddenly, and he followed, afraid, as he always was, that she was about to do something drastic.  She glanced around and picked up the metal knife that had been given to them with their stale bread.  It was a butter knife, not really a steak knife or anything sharper, but it was enough to make him grab for it.

"Stop it," she said, snapping her eyes at him and tugging the knife away from him. "I have an idea."

Still frantic, he grabbed her by the face and kissed her, hard, afraid of her, afraid of him, afraid of their captors, and afraid of the knife.  He pulled away after several moments, and pressed his forehead to hers.

"Doctor, just trust me?" she whispered. 

He had kissed her in the days past, because he could, because he needed the reassurance as much as she did. But she knew what that kiss meant. That was a plea of 'please don't' for something that she hadn't even been planning to do to begin with.  Her heart burst with affection for him, but she couldn't let him see what she was doing, really.  He would either think she was crazy or dying, and she wasn't sure what was worse. 

She reached up and started sliding the knife along the concrete.  "Can you resonate it?" She asked softly.

"No," he said, "This isn't the 1940s, is much more complicated, more advanced.  I'm not sure I would even know where to begin with it."

"Do you have your sonic?"

"Yes."

"Can you look for a solution?"

"Rose."

"What?"

"This isn't really concrete. It's something I've never seen before, it's technology far more advanced than either of us know how to solve."

She slumped, the knife falling to her side. The Doctor carefully removed the knife from her limp fingers, taking it in his own hand.  "I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking her hair with his free hand. 

"Haven't you got anything in your pockets?" She whined, "Anything to _try_ with? I can't... I'm not... not like this..."

"You're not going to die, Rose Tyler, do you hear me? This is not how it ends, not for us.  You just have to stay awake when it comes to see it.  Or I do.  One of us. Because that's when it sends the people contained home, eh?"

Rose turned to him, her gaze haunted and shocked. "Doctor," she whispered. "It only let Phillip go because the girl killed herself. It likes to have pairs."

He wanted to refute her, and fiercely, but his mouth opened and then shut almost right away. She was right. That's what it wanted.  Whatever it was, it wanted a pair to study.  What it was studying, Rose didn't know, but if one of them died, it was a waste of time for the experiment. 

"Rose, I could... Force a regeneration, here, that would count as a death, I could-"

"No!" She shouted. "No, you are not going to die twice because of me!  It's bad enough that you did it once, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "I would die for you as many times as it took, you should know that by now," he said gently. "I'll do it, for you."

She scooted away from him, shaking her head violently. "I'll never forgive you," she said firmly, "Never. I could never forgive you for killing yourself, just like you would never forgive me if I did it."

"Rose, I wouldn't really be dead, I'd come back, just a different man."

"I don't want you to change!"

He knew that this went beyond the superficial.  She liked this face, he knew that, liked how he looked, but that wasn't why she wanted him to stay.  It was hard for her to let her old Doctor go, because she didn't understand regeneration, and it had been an accident, but this? This would be deliberate murder of himself, and she didn't want to _watch._ He couldn't say that he blamed her at all for that. 

Slowly, he made his way over to her. "Rose.  I don't think we have a choice."

_Thump, thump._

The Doctor had been able to raise Rose's mental blocks (and his own) so that the two of them could block out the thumps and not go mad by them. However, whenever their captives were coming to feed them, they would hear the thumps for a few moments.

"There's always a choice," she said firmly, crossing her arms.  "You know that even better than I do.  You have always known that."

"Try to stay awake," he said softly, "Okay?  See if you can see them."

Rose nodded, fixating on the Doctor, on his eyes, trying to do this, what he wanted. She would do anything for this man.  Well, almost. A girl had standards, you know.  

She saw the Doctor black out, but she was still awake.  She furrowed her brows, confused. Why was it always the women that stayed awake, when this happened?  First the girl with Phillip, now her, and possibly others.  She couldn't really pretend to know. But her vision wasn't fading, and she knew the Doctor was safe.  So she swallowed and backed into a corner.  

A door slid open, and she made a mental note to where it was.  And then a horrifying creature crawled through the door.  It was clear that this room was smaller than the one beyond it, but she couldn't focus on that.  Instead, she could only focus on the monster before her, carrying a tray with their bland dinner on it.  

It looked over, and Rose wondered how it looked at anything at all, mostly because it looked like it had eye _sockets_ and not eyes at all.  It didn't really have a mouth either, just string-like skin sealing the mouth. 

_You are awake._

It was in her mind.  She scurried farther into the corner. 

_You are afraid, Rose Tyler._

"Who are you?" Rose demanded aloud, not wanting to speak to it in her mind. She didn't' want it in her mind.  

_Rose Tyler.  The Doctor is fond of you.  We are not fond of the Doctor._

"I don't bloody care if you're fond of him or not!" Rose snapped.  "What are you doing with us?"

_Studying. Do not shout._

She was a stubborn woman, Rose Tyler, but not now.  She had a feeling that for once, she should obey and do as she was told.  She looked down at the Doctor, who's face was locked into a peaceful looking slumber. 

"So, what are you doing the studying for?"

_Destruction._

"Of... Of course... But why?"

 _How else to rule the world than to destroy those who have built it up for you?_ The thing set the tray of food down and the second it moved from the room, Rose forgot what she had been looking at.  She didn't know why she started to cry, but she did.  

The Doctor woke up a few minutes later, and he rubbed his eye.  He looked over at her and saw that she was crying, taking only a moment before rushing to her, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close to him.  She pressed her cheek to his chest, clutching at his clothes with her hands, as he shushed her gently and pressed kisses to the top of her head and her temple. 

"You did it, Rose." he said softly, "It's alright, tell me what you saw. We can get out now, can't we?  Yeah?"

She shook her head. "I can't remember what I saw," she whispered. 

"What do you mean you can't remember?" he asked, pushing her back gently so that he could look into her eyes.  He cleared out her tears with his thumbs. "Tell me, love, what's happened?"

She breathed deeply, seeking solace in his eyes. "I think... I saw something.  It spoke to me, but I can't remember what it said. There's a door, just there," she pointed shakily to where she had seen the door, but she couldn't remember what had come out of that door besides their food.  

"Good! That's good, Rose, a door, okay, now we've got a better idea on what we're going to do.... Okay?"

"Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, as she tried to fight back against the nervousness and the shaking of her hands. 

"Look at me," he said, taking her chin in his hand. "Look at me, Rose."  He brought her mouth close to his.  She brought her eyes to his and wrapped her arms around his neck.  He leaned forward and kissed her softly before bringing her into a gentle hug.  She clung to him for a few shaking moments and he murmured in Gallifreyan into her hair, trying to comfort her.  

She wanted to ask what he was saying, but at the moment, her mind was quite cluttered, and she knew there was nothing else for her to say or do. She took a deep breath and pulled away from him, still looking up at him. 

"We should eat.  And then we can try and get out of here."

"Okay," he said, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  "Come on."

Her hands were still sweating, and she was still having lots of trouble focusing.  "What kind of alien is that, do you think?" She asked softly, "You know?  One I can't remember."

"It's not one I've met before," he admitted, handing her a bowl of warm broth.  "Or I just don't remember."

She laughed a little and tucked into her broth.  She looked up several minutes later and he was staring at her, his eyes looking quite full and his broth untouched. 

"What?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, trying to keep herself under control, if only slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just..." He stopped and shook his head. "I just love you, that's all."

She felt her heart lurch.  He hadn't spoken those words to her before, and she knew he meant them because the Doctor would never, _never_ say something like that unless he meant it.  She poked his leg with her shoe and he scooted close to her. 

"Good.  I love you too."

"We're gonna get out of here."

"Mm-hm," she felt enlightened by his admission, and her fear seemed insignificant too, when she had him here to protect her, and love her.  Whatever nameless thing had sneaked up on them, it didn't stand a chance.  Not against the Doctor and Rose Tyler.   _Never_ against the Doctor and Rose Tyler.

"I'm gonna shag the stuffing out of you when we go home."

He laughed, and she realized that she didn't need the sun if he kept laughing like that.  "Rose Tyler, I hope you do."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit difficult for me to write this story because it's much, much more involved than an AU, so I'm sorry for the inconsistent updates! Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> I am now taking requests for my next non-AU fic, since this one will be wrapping up shortly:)

The Doctor woke up in a cold sweat, the box they were sitting in quite dark.  Their light had been turned out.  He reached up and flicked the light on, squinting at even the dim light. Something was crouching before him, holding a tray of food in its long spindly fingers, and he had a feeling it was the same thing that Rose had seen.  

"Hello," he said, crossing his arms and looking down at a sleeping Rose before glancing at the thing again.  It had a suit on.  "What are you doing in here?"

_Why do you keep awakening?_

"Because we are tired of being in here.  It's quite difficult for humanoid figures to sleep when they've been at rest for so long. You must realize that., correct?"

_What do you want?_

"Oh, don't you think I should be asking you that?" The Doctor asked, careful to keep his voice low so that Rose wouldn't wake up. He wasn't sure if she was drugged or not, but even if she was, she would probably come to some form of awakenss at the sound of his voice.  He wanted to stand and confront the creature, but thought that would probably not be the best thing.  

_We are merely-_

"I don't care what you're doing. What are you?"

_We are the Rake._

"No, no you're not."  The Doctor leaned forward, elbows on his knees.  "Rose here has told me about the Rake, what she has seen, what we've seen. So you can't be the Rake. You can't all be the Rake.  So what are you?"

_We are the Rake._

"Stubborn, aren't you?" The Doctor tutted. "That sort of thing won't get you anywhere, I promise," he said fiercely. "I have a feeling that you just work for the Rake, don't you? But I'm not asking about the Rake.  What about _you?_ What do your people call themselves?"

The thing stared at him and the Doctor sort of wished it had expressions so that it could show him what it was feeling, even if it hadn't spoken (or thought) a word.  It shifted, adopting a more authoritative stance, as well as it could in the car.  

_We call ourselves the Silence._

"Ah!  Very nice.  I'm the Doctor."

_I know._

"What?"  He furrowed his brows, feeling a sense of confusion mount as well as a mounting expectations on what this could mean. Time could be in flux. This could be the most important moment of his tenth life.  He glanced at Rose, his eyes growing soft. Okay.  Second most important.  

_We know about the Doctor. The Doctor had us killed._

Had something been speaking?  The Doctor couldn't quite remember. He looked forward and his eyes bugged out when he saw a creature sitting before him. He furrowed his brows, confused.

"Sorry. Have you been here this whole time?"

The thing seemed to radiate frustration.   _We are the Silence.  You are the Doctor.  You killed us._

"Obviously not. You're here."

_Not all of us have died yet. But we will._

Well, you won't, I promise it, not if you let us go.  You're our captors, of course.  Why did I kill you? You see, it hasn't happened to me yet."

The thing, the Silence, the Doctor reminded himself, sort of looked confused. Well, what he thought might be the equivalent of confused.  It shook its head. _You may wear a different face, but you will kill me.  All of us._

"I wouldn't kill anyone unless I had a very, very good reason," the Doctor said lowly, crossing his arms defensively.  He was starting to feel quite defensive.  "So, you'd better tell me what's going on."

_We are not to tell. We thought the boy Phillip was you.  He looks like you._

"He does not look like me.  Now, listen here: the people here want to kill you because you're terrorizing their people.  If you let me _and_ Rose go, I'll tell the people not to come into your woods anymore, alright?  The Rake can live in peace and so can you lot, if you stay where you're told."

_You will still kill us, the humans will kill us._

"If they don't see you, they can't kill you."

The Silence seemed to consider this.   _You will not... Kill us?_

"You make me forget, don't you? That's the party trick of your species."

_It limits predators._

"Then how come Phillip-"

_The girl was a liability.  We thought she was her._

The Doctor wanted to look back at Rose again to make sure she was alright, but he had a feeling he'd just forget again if he looked away from the Silence.  He needed to stay invested in this, this conversation, negotiation, whatever it was.  He settled for settling his hand over hers.  

"You know about Rose?"

_She is very important._

"That's pretty cryptic."

_Yes._

"So, you gonna let us go?"  

_You will stay one more night. If you do not remember, we will let you go.  Sometimes, someone remembers, a stronger mind.  If neither of you recall us, you will be set free._

"Alright."  The Doctor agreed, knowing he didnt' have a lot of choice in the matter. As long as Rose was safe, that was all that mattered.  Her warm skin under his was reassurance that he had made the right choice.  

The Silence vanished then, through the door that Rose had mentioned.  The second it left, the Doctor furrowed his brows and looked around the room. Why was he awake?  Why was there food here?  He swore quietly under his breath.  He'd just missed their captors.  

Feeling a bit dejected, he settled down next to Rose and sent himself into a night long coma.  He didn't need much sleep, but the nights were boring when Rose was not awake to speak with him and keep him company. 

****

The Doctor still berated himself for not waking up just a moment earlier so he could have seen their captors.  It seemed as though he had let Rose down, in his own mind.  He looked over at her, where she was still sleeping, and wondered how she was managing it.  He wanted to wake her (She slept too much, especially these days) but he knew that her rest was the only thing keeping her sane in this little box.

He'd been in worse conditions. It was safe to say that Rose had never been.  And he never wanted her to be.  He wanted to protect her, of course, but that was becoming more and more difficult. She was jeopardy friendly, but then again, so was he, and he always had been.  More than she had been alive, really.

Sometimes he forgot she was so young, or, so much younger than him.  She was just a woman, and she had lived a thousand lives in the time since she had known him.  He couldn't move away from her, felt like it was impossible for him to separate himself from her side.  

He had told her he loved her.

When he played that scenario out in his head, over the two years he had known her, it had ended in the universe striking him down for admitting such base feelings, or she had been ripped from him days later. but he wouldn't let that happen to her, and it _hadn't_ happened, no body had died (knock on wood) and she was laying here next to him, her breathing soft and feminine.  

The Doctor had loved before, of course, he was nine hundred years old, after all, but Rose Tyler owned this body just as she had owned the last one.  He felt as though he had belonged to Rose Tyler for nine hundred years, and he was already struggling to think about his life without her. He prayed that he wouldn't ever have to live a life without her.  He was willing to try anything to keep her with him for forever, if that was what she wanted. 

But first, they had to get out of here.  He shifted to the walls and started knocking and pushing, trying to find a door, a way out, anything.  But despite the ray of hope they'd had, everything felt painfully solid. He was so focused he didn't hear Rose sit up and draw his coat around her. 

"I think it's winter," she said softly, jerking him from his thoughts.

He looked over at her, wrapped up in his coat.  "How d'you reckon that?" He asked, "We haven't been here _that_ long."

"I think we're in the forest," she said, "Time moves slower here. It must be winter by now."

"I suppose it might be," he offered, scratching the back of his neck.  "But we don't know that.  Chin up, eh?"

She smiled at him, trying to be brave, because that's who she was, but her eyes were a little misty and he felt his hearts drop in his chest.  She shifted her feet against the concrete, staring down at the laces on her trainers.

"Can I have a hug?" she whispered.

He didn't say a word, just scooted over and sat between her knees, pulling her into a hug. She sighed and leaned against him, her head resting on his chest and her arms around his waist.  She was breathing quietly, almost too quietly, and it made him quite nervous.  He counted her heartbeats, checking her pulse, and was satisfied that it was steady.  Pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, he pulled back and looked down at her.  "You alright?" He asked.

Her gentle eyes were worried when she looked up into his face.  "I think... I think I'm going a bit mad."

"No, you're not."

"I think I am, though," she whispered. "I'm tired all the time, but all I do is sleep here."

"That's normal," he insisted.  "I promise it's normal, Rose.  A body at rest tends to stay at rest, remember?  You've been resting for a very long time, really." he lifted a hand to cup her face. "I would know if you were going mad, Rose, I'd be able to sense it and I don't sense anything, therefore, you must be alright."

She laughed lightly and then tilted her chin up.  Sensing she was asking for a kiss he dipped his head and kissed her softly, reveling in the ability to be able to do this.  He was allowed to kiss her, and touch her, and if anything or anyone tried to take her away from them, he would ruin or destroy their lives. She was worth anything that he was able to do to protect her.  

"I love you," she whispered against his mouth.

And now, of course, he could tell her that he loved her too.  "I love you, too," he said back.  She smiled and hugged him again.  He pressed reassuring kisses to his neck before burying her face into the crook of his neck.  He tilted his head against her so she was trapped there and tickled her sides.  She giggled and scooted closer to him.

"I wonder if the TARDIS is okay," she said, mumbling.

"Well.  She's still helping you with your barriers, but I'm helping too, so we don't hear the thumps, and-"

"No, Doctor, I meant... Is she lonely?"

He stroked his hand up and down her back. He couldn't lie to her now.  Not in front of her face, not after all this.  He kissed her cheek, straining to do so but finding that it was the only way he could give her reassurance. "She might be," he said softly, "But she knows that we'll come back."

"Will we?"

"Yes," he said.

"Even if we didn't..." She said slowly, as though biding her time, "Even if we didn't, I would still have you, and that's all I ever wanted anyway."

"Me too," he admitted softly. "But we're gonna get out of here and have a better life than this, that's for sure."

She didn't say anything, and he knew she didn't exactly believe him. He knew she _wanted_ to believe him, but was possibly having a little trouble with it. She had never been in a prison with no windows, and no visible doors.  They always saw their captors, or knew why they were captives at all.  

"You're gonna stay with me, though, yeah?"

He was starting to cramp up, holding her like this, his legs shaking slightly.  But she was worth it, and she deserved it, and Rassilon help him, he wanted to give her anything she wanted.  He kissed her temple, her cheek, and waited for her to turn her head to him so he could kiss her full on the lips.  When he pulled away, he stared into her eyes, hoping that she would understand what he was about to say meant more than just one word.

"Yeah."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you hopefully when I start up my next fic :) It probably won't be until next week, but I will have something soon for you! thank you all so much!

She couldn’t tell how long they were there, the time blurring in and out with her vision. She had a feeling that the Doctor was struggling too, just because he couldn’t remember if he had seen their captors or not. He seemed to lose his sense of time, and that scared Rose more than anything else. She was wringing her hands and trying to stretch her legs but not having enough room to do so.

“I’m feeling a little antsy,” she said, smiling weakly, “Sorry.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s alright,” he said, “The human body was made to move. Then again, so was a Time Lord’s.” He lifted a shoulder from where he sat against the wall, his bum growing numb. “I think it might be almost time for them to knock us out.’

“You think?”

He grimaced, and her fears were realized. He didn’t know what time it was.

“Are they dulling your senses in here?” She asked.

He nodded. “I wanted to lie to you about it.. But yes, they are. I can’t do anything about it, not really. I should be able to, with all my strong Time Lord-y powers, but they’ve taken most of my senses. I can feel the TARDIS and I can feel you, but that’s about it.”

“You can feel me?”

“Yes. I’m in there holding your barriers up, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” she smiled sheepishly. “Sort of forgot.”

“Good. That means I’m not disturbing your mind at all.”

She cocked her head at him and sat in front of him. “Should it?”

He shook his head. “Well, no, not necessarily, but… It’s a good sign, that you aren’t bothered by my presence there.”

“And why’s that?”

She could tell that all her questions were bothering him, as he shifted awkwardly in his seat. “Yeah, it’s just… The Time Lord connection, doesn’t always come naturally, to humans, but it seems to for you…. And that just means with our… Relationship. We would-”

She laughed and reached forward to squeeze his hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable there.”

“I’m not uncomfortable, it just took me by surprise. You don’t make me uncomfortable, I should say. Quite the opposite, really, I just-”

“Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“You’re rambling.”

He blushed and looked away from her. “Ah. Yes. I’m good at that, aren’t I?”

“Quite,” she agreed happily, reaching out and taking his hand. “You know, we don’t have to talk about this right now, but all your babbling has me really interested.”

“It does?”  
“Yeah. I’d like to know more, when you’re willing to talk about it.”

Her statement made such a sweet smile light his face that she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anything so beautiful. She smiled back at him and crawled forward so they were sitting side by side against the wall, defending each other from something that neither of them knew would actually come or not.

Regardless, it seemed the Doctor was right about one thing: tehy were knocked out shortly thereafter.

When she woke up, she was in the forest. She saw up straight as a pin and looked around her.  How was this-?  Was she dreaming?  Looking to her left she saw the Doctor, thrown there, or appearing to be. Suddenly, a creature stood before her, wearing a black suit and looking quite like a stereotypical alien, with no mouth.  She opened her own mouth to cry out when it spoke, in her mind.

_You are important.  You will save the world.  We did not want you to.  But we made a deal with the Doctor._

 "What do you mean I'm gonna save the world?" Rose asked curiously.

_Perhaps you have already done it in your time.  Perhaps we could not stop you. You were the Bad Wolf. Stories of you were told for centuries._

"But why didn't you want me to do it?" She tilted her head, hoping for an honest answer but also wondering why this thing was so willing to give her information.  

_Because the Silence love destruction.  We would have allied ourselves with the Daleks.  I fear now that we are too late._

She frowned at the thing.  "Yeah, you kind of are.  I was the Bad Wolf like, a year ago.  That happened a while ago for me."

The thing slumped, looking quite dejected, and nodded.   _I had feared that was the case. You arrived too late._

"So that was you lot, slumming about the TARDIS, saying I was important and all that?"

_We wanted to get rid of the Doctor's sense of time, and kill you._

Rose blinked. "Then why-"

_We made a deal with the Doctor._

"See, that's the thing though. He said he doesn't know who captured us, beat himself up for not being able to figure it out. What's all that about, then?"

_You will not remember this, Rose Tyler._

"And why not?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.  "Why won't I remember?"

_The curse and blessing of the Silence. Go, Rose Tyler, before I change my mind._

Like ice melting, the thing disappeared, and Rose spared a brief thought about holograms before she couldn't remember why her heart was pounding, or what she had been doing. But she did feel that an enormous weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  She sighed and turned to the Doctor, shaking his shoulder. 

"Doctor?"

He sat up quickly, like she did, and stared around, looking quite nervous. "Where?  How?  When did we?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but I think we can go."

"What about the people?" He asked slowly.

"All we have to do is keep them out of the woods.  They need to build a fence, not to keep the Rake in, but to keep them out," she reached out and cupped his cheek. "Are you okay?"  

He held her wrist, as though seeking for some form of stability in the panicked moments. "I am so glad I have you."

"I'm glad I have you too. Now let's get the hell out of here."

When they walked out of the forest into the town, not much had changed, except for the plaque in front of the woods.  It read "In memory of the Doctor and Rose Tyler, who tried to save us." 

"Well, guess we'd better tell them that they're wrong."

An old man hobbled from one of the buildings just then, and Rose had to wonder if fate was real after all, because she could tell by his eyes that it was Gren.

"Gren?" Rose gasped. 

"You've been in the woods for twenty two years.  We'd given up on you."

"Well, we figured out what to do, if that's any consolation," the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You were captured." It wasn't a question.

Rose and the Doctor nodded dejectedly, feeling a bit embarrassed that they had been captured at all.  Rose couldn't help but feel bad for thinking that she had done something wrong, that this was awful, that she had let them down.  She didn't want to let anyone down.  She hung her head. 

"No, don't look like that," Gren scolded. "I'm... Indebted to you.  To you for coming up with a solution that the rest of us couldn't find.  I am only sorry that it took you so long."

Rose and the Doctor talked to Gren about their ideas for the fence. It would be a delicate thing, and not very high, just about four or five feet so the Rake should feel assured that no one was coming in.  Gren thought it was quite a good idea and Rose turned to the Doctor before they departed. 

"We should see Phillip," she said softly. 

"Phillip? He was released quite some time ago.  They knew that the woods weren't big enough for you to get lost in, so they knew that Phillip had been telling the truth all along."

"Really?" Rose raised her eyebrows at Gren, who had, inexplicably in his old age, heard them.   "Where is he?"

Gren gave them directions to where he was living, which was in the town, not far from where the TARDIS was parked. Rose had to wonder if that was on purpose, if he had been waiting for them to return.                                    

She knocked on the door of his tiny house and was surprised to see a man who had aged _quite_ well.  He had a dusting of grey hair but there was not a wrinkle on him.  His eyes lit up when he saw Rose and The Doctor. 

"Rose!" He pulled her into a hug that she wasn't expecting but she giggled and returned the embrace, squeezing him around the middle. 

Phillip pulled back from her and then shook the Doctor's hand. The Time Lord was looking a little flabbergasted and it made Rose laugh even harder. She almost forgot that they'd just been through a very rough time.  This was what they fought for, why they kept fighting for good to prevail.  Because of these moments.  

"Come in!" He said, "Have some tea!"

They followed the man into his home and straight to his dining room. They told him that they had experienced the same thing that he had, and he nodded. 

"When you were gone for so long, I figured that was what happened," Phillip replied, leaning against the counter and crossed his ankles and his arms over his chest. "I wanted to go in after you, but they wouldn't let me. Gren and the others.  They all thought that maybe I would just get taken again, and not let out this time." 

"I'm glad you didn't come after us, Phillip. That wouldn't have been good for anyone." The Doctor said solemnly, stirring his tea.  

"Well, it would have made me feel better, but I'm sure you're right. And you're sure it won't happen again?"

"Yes," Rose said. "We know it won't.  We were let go, and for whatever reason, we'll have to grab that with both hands."

"You should probably go. You deserve to sleep.  Who knows how long it's been since you've had a proper rest, eh?"

The Doctor nodded and ran a slightly possessive hand over Rose's back. "Yeah. I think you're right, Phillip."

They bid their friend goodbye, and Rose reached for his hand as Phillip closed the door. "You were jealous," she whispered in his ear, and he shivered at the contact.

"Stop that," he scolded her, "I am not."

"Yeah, you were. Older man and all, making you nervous?"

"Rose. I'm the older man."

"But you look like a spring chicken."

He snorted. "Oh, come on," he scolded.  "I'm much better looking than any... George Clooney-esque future man."

She leaned her head on his shoulder as he dug out his key to unlock the TARDIS. "It's okay," she mumbled, "I like you better anyway."

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple before leading her into the ship.  She shut the door behind them and sprung up the ramp after him, watching him take them into the vortex. He smiled manically at her, and their memories of being locked in that box were pushed away when the happy 'welcome home' hum of the TARDIS surrounded them. 

"Now, Rose Tyler, I'm going to park on us on a planet, and then we're going to have a nice long rest. And after, and only after, our nice long rest, we will go out and _explore_ that planet."

"Well then, Doctor, what planet?"

He winked at her. "Let's let the TARDIS decide, eh? She barely gets this kind of stuff wrong you know."

"Oh, believe me, I know it's not her messing up," Rose said, hearing the TARDIS sing happily in the back of her head.  

He made a face at her. "Well, don't you get too cocky, Rose Tyler, I'd like to see you land precisely with all of time and space at your disposal."

"Maybe someday I will."

He grabbed her around the middle and kissed her deeply. 'Maybe you will," he said upon separating, "But don't you set your hopes on it."

She cupped his cheeks in her hands. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She smiled at him, feeling so indescribably happy that she could burst. Despite not being able to remember things about their capture, besides all the trouble they went through, they were together and they were alive, and when that was the outcome of adventure?  Well, there was nothing to complain about.  

The Doctor and Rose Tyler.

In the TARDIS, parked on the universe's biggest 'wedding hot-spot' planet (The TARDIS thought she was a bit funny. And that it was about time.)

As it should be.                        


End file.
